Polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide synthase activity

ABSTRACT

The object of the present invention is to provide a polypeptide which can be used to produce a saccharide having the structure of cyclo{→6)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→}, a DNA encoding the polypeptide, and uses thereof. The present invention solves the above object by establishing a polypeptide which has an enzymatic activity of forming a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or higher and bearing both the α-1,6 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end and the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than the linkage at the non-reducing end from a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 2 or higher and bearing the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end by α-glucosyl transferring reaction without substantially increasing the reducing power, a DNA encoding the polypeptide, a replicable recombinant DNA comprising the DNA encoding the polypeptide and an autonomously replicable vector, a transformant constructed by introducing the recombinant DNA into an appropriate host, and uses thereof.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a polypeptide which has an activity of forming α-isomaltosylglucosaccharides (which may be simply designated as “a polypeptide”), a process for preparing the polypeptide by gene recombinant technology, and uses thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

There have been known several carbohydrates which are composed of glucose molecules as constituents and produced from starches, amyloses, or partial starch hydrolyzates as amylaceous materials, for example, amylodextrins, maltodextrins, maltooligosaccharides, and isomaltooligosaccharides. These carbohydrates are also known to have usually both non-reducing and reducing groups at their molecular ends and the reducing group is responsible for reducibility. In general, reducing power of a partial starch hydrolyzate is represented with dextrose equivalent (DE), a scale for the reducing power, on a dry solid basis. Such a partial starch hydrolyzate with a high DE value has a low molecular weight, viscosity, strong sweetening power and reactivity: They easily react with amino group-containing substances such as amino acids and proteins through the amino carbonyl reaction which may lead to browning, undesirable smell, and deterioration. To overcome these disadvantages, heretofore long desired are methods which may lower or even eliminate the reducing power of partial starch hydrolyzates without converting glucose molecules as constituent saccharides. For example, it was reported in Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 71, 353–358 (1949) that starches can be converted to α-, β- and γ-cyclodextrins which are composed of 6–8 glucose molecules linked covalently via the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage by allowing to contact with “macerans amylase”. Nowadays, cyclodextrins are produced on an industrial scale and their inherent properties such as non-reducibility, tasteless, and clathrating abilities render them very useful in a variety of fields. While, for example, Japanese Patent Kokai Nos. 143,876/95 and 213,283/95, filed by the same applicant of the present invention discloses a method of producing trehalose, a disaccharide composed of two glucose molecules linked together via the α,α-linkage, where a non-reducing saccharide-forming enzyme and a trehalose-releasing enzyme are allowed to contact with partial starch hydrolyzates such as maltooligosaccharides. In these days, trehalose has been industrially produced from starches and applied to a variety of fields where its non-reducibility, mild- and high quality-sweetness are advantageously utilized. As described above, trehalose (DP of two) and α-, β- and γ-cyclodextrins (DP of 6–8) have been produced on an industrial scale and extensively used because of their advantageous properties; however, there is a limitation in the types of non- or low-reducing saccharides which are available in the art. Therefore, saccharides other than these saccharides are in great demand.

Recently, reported was a novel cyclic tetrasaccharide composed of glucose units: European Journal of Biochemistry, Vol.226, 641–648 (1994) reported that a cyclic tetrasaccharide with the structure of cyclo{→6)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→} (which may be simply designated as “cyclotetrasaccharide”, hereinafter) is formed by allowing alternanase, a type of hydrolyzing enzyme, to contact with alternan, a polysaccharide where glucose molecules are linked via the alternating α-1,3 and α-1,6 bonds, followed by crystallization in the presence of methanol.

Cyclotetrasaccharide, a saccharide with a cyclic structure and no reducing power, is expected to be very useful because of its no amino-carbonyl reactivity, stabilizing effect for volatile organic compounds by its clathrating ability, and no apprehension of browning and deterioration.

However, alternan and alternanase, which are indispensable materials to produce cyclotetrasaccharide, are not easily obtainable, and microorganisms as alternanase source are not easily available.

Under these circumstances, the present inventors disclosed in WO 01/90338 Al a successful process to produce cyclotetrasaccharide where a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or higher and bearing both the α-1,6 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end and the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than the linkage at the non-reducing end (may be called “α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide” throughout the specification) as a material is allowed to contact with an α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme which specifically hydrolyzes the linkage between the α-isomaltosyl moiety and the resting glucosaccharide moiety, and then the enzyme transfers the released α-isomaltosyl moiety to another α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide to form cyclotetrasaccharide. The α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme forms cyclotetrasaccharide from α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide by α-isomaltosyl-transferring reaction. Particularly, α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme has the following physicochemical properties:

(1) Action

-   -   Forming cyclotetrasaccharide with the structure of         cyclo{→6)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1         3)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→} from a saccharide with a glucose         polymerization degree of 3 or higher and bearing both the α-1,6         glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end and the         α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than the linkage at the         non-reducing end by catalyzing α-isomaltosyl-transferring         reaction;

(2) Molecular Weight

-   -   About 82,000 to 136,000 daltons when determined on sodium         dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE);

(3) Isoelectric Point (pI)

-   -   About 3.7 to 8.3 when determined on isoelectrophoresis using         ampholine;

(4) Optimum Temperature

-   -   About 45 to 50° C. when incubated at pH 6.0 for 30 minutes;

(5) Optimum pH

-   -   About 5.5 to 6.5 when incubated at 35° C. for 30 minutes;

(6) Thermal Stability

-   -   About 45° C. or lower when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes;         and

(7) pH Stability

-   -   About 3.6 to 10.0 when incubated at 4° C. for 24 hours.

As regards to saccharides which are used as starting materials for cyclotetrasaccharide, it is desirable to prepare them from starches which are abundant and low-cost sources, however, since α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme dose not directly act on starches, the following procedures are actually employed: Starches are firstly converted into an α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide having the above specified structure, for example, relatively low-molecular weight isomaltooligosaccharide such as panose and isomaltosylmaltose, and then subjected to the action of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme to form cyclotetrasaccharide. As regards to the yield of cyclotetrasaccharide from the materials, in the case of using panose as a material, the yield of cyclotetrasaccharide is about 44% based on the weight of the dry solid (d.s.b.). Similarly, in the case of using isomaltosylmaltose as a material, the yield of cyclotetrasaccharide is about 31%, d.s.b. While in the case of using starches as a material, it is necessary to contact starches previously with α-amylase, starch-debranching enzyme, β-amylase and α-glucosidase to form relatively low-molecular weight isomaltooligosaccharides including panose, and the yield of cyclotetrasaccharide is relatively low, about 15%, d.s.b. Although the production of cyclotetrasaccharide from starch is feasible even in such a low yield, the production cost may be increased. Therefore, it is desired to establish a novel method for producing cyclotetrasaccharide in a relatively high yield using starches as a material.

Under these circumstances, the present inventors extensively screened microorganisms capable of producing an α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme which may significantly improve the yield of cyclotetrasaccharide when allowed to act on starches as a material. As a result, the present inventors found that α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme-producing microorganisms, strains C9, C11, N75 and A19 of the genera Bacillus and Arthrobacter, which are disclosed in WO 01/90338 A1, also produce another α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme. They also found that the yield of cyclotetrasaccharide can be remarkably improved by allowing both α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme to act on a glucosaccharide with a high-molecular weight such as partial starch hydrolyzates. The present inventors characterized the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme, and established a process for producing the enzyme. Further, they established methods for α-glucosyl-transferring reaction using the enzyme, a process for producing α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide, and a process for producing cyclotetrasaccharide and a saccharide composition containing the cyclotetrasaccharide by the combination use of the enzyme and α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme. Also, the present inventors established food products, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, comprising cyclotetrasaccharide which are obtainable by the processes mentioned above or saccharide compositions containing cyclotetrasaccharide. However, since the producibility of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme in the microorganisms were found to be not enough, there has been still left a problem that large-scale cultivation of such microorganisms as enzyme sources are required for industrial scale production of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide and cyclotetrasaccharide.

It is known that the entity of the enzyme is a polypeptide and the enzymatic activity is under the regulation of its amino acid sequence, which is encoded by a DNA. Therefore, if one successfully isolates a gene which encodes the polypeptide and determines the nucleotide sequence, it will be relatively easy to obtain the desired amount of the polypeptide by the steps of constructing a recombinant DNA which contains the DNA encoding the polypeptide, introducing the recombinant DNA into host-cells such as microorganisms, animals or plants, and culturing the obtained transformants in appropriate nutrient media. Under these, required are the isolation of a gene encoding the polypeptide as the entity of the enzyme described above, and the sequencing of the nucleotide sequence.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The first object of the present invention is to establish a polypeptide which has an α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity of catalyzing the formation of a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or higher and bearing both the α-1,6 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end and the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than the linkage at the non-reducing end, from a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 2 or higher and bearing the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end by α-glucosyl transferring reaction without substantially increasing the reducing power.

The second object of the present invention is to provide a DNA encoding the above polypeptide.

The third object of the present invention is to provide a replicable recombinant DNA comprising the above DNA.

The fourth object of the present invention is to provide a transformant transformed by the recombinant DNA.

The fifth object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity by using the transformant.

The sixth object of the present invention is to provide uses of the polypeptide described above.

The present invention solves the first object described above by providing a polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming activity and the following physicochemical properties:

-   (1) Forming a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 3     or higher and bearing both the α-1,6 glucosidic linkage as a linkage     at the non-reducing end and the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than     the linkage at the non-reducing end from a saccharide with a glucose     polymerization degree of 2 or higher and bearing the α-1,4     glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end by     α-glucosyl transferring reaction without substantially increasing     the reducing power;     (2) Molecular Weight -   About 74,000 to 160,000 daltons when determined on sodium dodecyl     sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE);     (3) Optimum Temperature -   About 40° C. to 50° C. when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes; -   About 45° C. to 55° C. when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes in     the presence of 1 mM Ca²⁺; -   About 60° C. when incubated at pH 8.4 for 60 minutes; or -   About 65° C. when incubated at pH 8.4 for 60 minutes in the presence     of 1 mM Ca²⁺;     (4) Optimum pH -   About 6.0 to 8.4 when incubated at 35° C. for 60 minutes;     (5) Thermal Stability -   About 45° C. or lower when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes; -   About 60° C. or lower when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes in the     presence of 1 mM Ca²⁺; -   About 55° C. or lower when incubated at pH 8.0 for 60 minutes; or -   About 60° C. or lower when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes in the     presence of 1 mM Ca²⁺; and     (6) pH Stability -   About 5.0 to 10.0 when incubated at 4° C. for 24 hours.

The present invention solves the second object described above by providing a DNA encoding the polypeptide.

The present invention solves the third object described above by providing a replicable recombinant DNA which comprise a DNA encoding the polypeptide and an autonomously replicable vector.

The present invention solves the fourth object described above by providing a transformant constructed by introducing the recombinant DNA into an appropriate host.

The present invention solves the fifth object described above by providing a process for preparing the polypeptide, which comprises the steps of culturing a transformant constructed by introducing a replicable recombinant DNA, which contains a DNA encoding the polypeptide and an autonomously replicable vector, into an appropriate host; and collecting the polypeptide from the resultant culture.

The present invention solves the sixth object described above by establishing various uses of the polypeptide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a ¹H-NMR spectrum of an enzymatic reaction product X which was obtained from maltotetraose using a polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity.

FIG. 2 shows a ¹H-NMR spectrum of an enzymatic reaction product Y which was obtained from maltopentaose using a polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity.

FIG. 3 shows a ¹³C-NMR spectrum of an enzymatic reaction product X which was obtained from maltotetraose using a polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity.

FIG. 4 shows a ¹³C-NMR spectrum of an enzymatic reaction product Y which was obtained from maltopentaose using a polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity.

FIG. 5 shows the effect of temperature on α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus C11.

FIG. 6 shows the effect of temperature on α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus N75.

FIG. 7 shows the effect of temperature on α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a microorganism of Arthrobacter globiformis A19.

FIG. 8 shows the effect of pH on α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus C11.

FIG. 9 shows the effect of pH on α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus N75.

FIG. 10 shows the effect of pH on α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a microorganism of Arthrobacter globiformis A19.

FIG. 11 shows the thermal stability of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus C11.

FIG. 12 shows the thermal stability of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus N75.

FIG. 13 shows the thermal stability of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme from a microorganism of Arthrobacter globiformis A19.

FIG. 14 shows the pH stability of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus C11.

FIG. 15 shows the pH stability of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus N75.

FIG. 16 shows the. pH stability of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme from a microorganism of Arthrobacter globiformis A19.

FIG. 17 shows a restriction enzyme map of a recombinant DNA, pBGC2, of the present invention. In the figure, a section indicated with a black bold line is a DNA encoding a polypeptide having α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus C11.

FIG. 18 shows a restriction enzyme map of a recombinant DNA, pBGN2, of the present invention. In the figure, a section indicated with a black bold line is a DNA encoding a polypeptide having α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity from a microorganism of Bacillus globisporus N75.

FIG. 19 shows a restriction enzyme map of a recombinant DNA, pAGA1, of the present invention. In the figure, a section indicated with a black bold line is a DNA encoding a polypeptide having α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity from a microorganism of Arthrobacter globiformis A19.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The wording “polypeptide” as referred to as in the present invention means polypeptides in general which have an activity of forming a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or higher and bearing both the α-1,6 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end and the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than the linkage at the non-reducing end from a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 2 or higher and bearing α-1,4 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end by α-glucosyl-transferring reaction without substantially increasing the reducing power.

The polypeptide of the present invention usually comprises a determined amino acid sequence, for example, an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or mutants of SEQ ID NO: 1 having deletion, replacement with different amino acid(s), or addition of one or more of amino acids, i.e., at least one or two, for example, 1–50, 1–30, or 1–10 amino acids of SEQ ID NO: 1. Even-with the same DNA, the post-translational modification of a polypeptide by extra-/intra-cellular enzymes of host is affected by various conditions such as the kind of host, nutrients or composition of culture media, temperatures or pHs for the cultivation of a transformant having the above DNA. In such conditions, it is possible to arise some mutants having deletion or replacement with different amino acid of one or more, i.e., at least one or two, according to the situation, 1–30, 1–20, or 1–10 amino acids of the N-terminal region of SEQ ID NO: 1, further, or having addition of one or more, i.e., at least one or two, for example, 1–30, 1–20, or 1–10 amino acids to those N-termini. The -polypeptide of the present invention includes these mutants as far as their physicochemical properties have been revealed.

The polypeptide of the present invention can be obtained by the steps of introducing the DNA of the present invention into appropriate hosts, and collecting the polypeptide from the culture of the resultant transformants. The transformants usable in the present invention are those which contain a DNA comprising, for example, a nucleotide sequence, from the 5′-terminus, of SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 5, or SEQ ID NO: 6; those having deletion, replacement or addition of one or more nucleotides in the above nucleotide sequence, those having anti-sense nucleotide sequences, or those having replacement of one or more nucleotides based on the degeneracy of genetic code without altering the amino acid sequence encoded by the above nucleotide sequence. The nucleotide sequence having replacement of one or more, i.e., at least one or two, optionally, 1–150, 1–90, 1–60, or 1–30 nucleotides based on gene-degeneracy without altering the amino acid sequence encoded by the above nucleotide sequence can be used as the nucleotide sequence.

The DNAs of the present invention include those of natural origin or those which can be synthesized in an artificial manner can be used as far as the DNAs encode the polypeptide of the present invention can be obtained. Microorganisms of the genus Bacillus , for example, Bacillus globisporus C9, deposited on Apr. 25, 2000, in the International Depositary Authority National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, 1–3, Higashi 1 chome Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan (International Patent Organism Depositary National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Tsukuba Central 6, 1-1, Higashi 1-Chome Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 305-8566, Japan) under the accession number of FERM BP-7143; Bacillus globisporus C11, deposited on Apr. 25, 2000, in the International Patent Organism Depositary National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Tsukuba Central 6, 1-1, Higashi 1-Chome Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 305-8566, Japan under the accession number of FERM BP-7144; and Bacillus globisporus N75, deposited on May 16, 2001, in the International Patent Organism Depositary National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Tsukuba Central 6, 1-1, Higashi 1-Chome Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 305-8566, Japan under the accession number of FERMBP-7591; and other microorganisms belonging the genus Arthrobacter including Arthrobacter globiformis A19, deposited on May 16, 2001, in the International Patent Organism Depositary National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Tsukuba Central 6, 1-1, Higashi 1-Chome Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 305-8566, Japan under the accession number of FERM BP-7590, are usable as the natural sources. A gene containing the DNA of the present invention can be obtained from the cells of the above microorganisms. Specifically, a gene containing the DNA can be released extracellularly by the steps of inoculating the microorganisms into a nutrient medium, culturing them about for one to three days under aerobic conditions, collecting the proliferated cells from the culture, and treating the cells with cell-lysis enzymes such as lysozyme and β-glucanase or with ultrasonication. In addition to the above methods, protein-hydrolyzing enzymes such as proteinases and freeze-thawing method in the presence of detergents such as sodium dodecyl sulfate can be used. The objective DNAs can be obtained from the disrupted cells using conventional methods in the art, for example, phenol-extraction, alcohol-precipitation, centrifugation, and ribonuclease-treatment. To synthesize the DNAs of the present invention artificially, chemical synthesis of the DNAs using the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 5 or SEQ ID NO: 6 can be used. Also, PCR-method can be advantageously used to obtain the DNAs using a gene containing them as a template and appropriate chemically synthetic DNA as a primer.

The use of such DNAs enables the industrial production of the polypeptide of the present invention in a large amount and at a relatively low-cost: Such a production usually comprises the steps of inserting a specific DNA into an appropriate autonomously replicable vector to construct a recombinant DNA, introducing the resultant recombinant DNA into an appropriate host, culturing the resultant transformant in an appropriate nutrient medium for proliferation, collecting the cells from the culture, collecting the recombinant DNA from the cells, introducing the recombinant DNA into an appropriate host which can be easily proliferated for transformation, and culturing the resultant transformant in an appropriate nutrient medium. If one can obtain a DNA encoding the polypeptide of the present invention, the recombinant DNA described above can be relatively easily prepared by conventional recombinant DNA techniques. For example, plasmid vectors such as pBR322, pUC18, Bluescript II SK(+), pUB110, pTZ4, pC194, pHV14, TRp7, YEp7 and pBS7; or phage vectors such as λgt·λC, λgt·λB, ρ11, φ1 and φ105 can be used as the vectors. To express the DNA of the present invention in E. coli, pBR322, pUC18, Bluescript II SK(+), λgt·λC, and λgt·λB are preferable. To express the DNA of the present invention in Bacillus subtilis, pUB110, pTZ4, pC194, ρ11, φ1 and φ105 are preferable. Plasmids, pHV14, TRp7, YEp7 and pBS7 are useful in the case of replicating the recombinant DNA of the present invention in two or more hosts.

In order to insert the DNAs of the present invention into these vectors, conventional methods used in the art can be used. Specifically, a specific DNA is inserted into a vector by the steps of cleaving a gene containing the DNA and an autonomously replicable vector by restriction enzymes and/or ultrasonication and ligating the resulting DNA fragment and the resulting vector fragment. The ligation of the DNA fragment and the vector fragment can be easy by using restriction enzymes which specifically act on nucleotides, particularly, type II-restriction enzymes such as Sau 3AI, Eco RI, Hind III, Bam HI, Sal I, Xba I, Sac I and Pst I for cleaving gene and vector. After the annealing of the both, if necessary, the desired recombinant DNA can be obtained by ligating them in vivo or in vitro using a DNA ligase. The recombinant DNA thus obtained is unlimitedly replicable by the steps of introducing into appropriate hosts such as Escherihia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Actinomyces, and yeasts to construct transformants, and culturing the resultant transformants. On the cloning described above, the desired clones can be obtained from the transformants by applying the colony-hybridization method or screening by the steps of culturing in a nutrient medium containing saccharides with a glucose polymerization degree of 2 or higher and bearing the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage residue as a linkage at the non-reducing end and selecting a trabsformant which produces cyclotetrasaccharide from the saccharides.

The transformant, obtained by the cloning, produces the polypeptide extra- or intra-cellularly when cultured in a nutrient medium. Usually, conventional liquid media supplemented with carbon sources, nitrogen sources and minerals, and optionally trace-nutrients such as amino acids and vitamins are usually used as the nutrient media. Examples of the carbon sources usable in the present invention are saccharides including starch, starch hydrolyzate, glucose, fructose, sucrose, and trehalose. Examples of the nitrogen sources usable in the present invention are nitrogen-containing inorganic- or organic-substances including ammonia, ammonium salts, urea, nitrate, peptone, yeast extract, defatted soybean, corn-steep liquor and meat extract. Cultures containing the polypeptide can be obtained by the steps of inoculating the transformants into the nutrient media, culturing for about one to six days under aerobic conditions such as aeration and agitation conditions while keeping the temperature and pH, usually, at 20–40° C. and pH 2–10. Although the culture can be used intact as a crude polypeptide preparation comprising the polypeptide of the present invention, the polypeptide is usually separated from cells or cell debris and purified before use; it can be purified from the culture by removing cells or cell debris from the culture and applying conventional procedures used in the art for purifying polypeptides, for example, appropriately combining of one or more procedures such as concentration, salting out, dialysis, precipitation, gel filtration chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, hydrophobic chromatography, affinity chromatography, gel electrophoresis and isoelectrophoresis.

The polypeptide of the present invention has an activity of forming a saccharides with a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or higher and bearing both the α-1,6-glucosidic linkage at the non-reducing end and the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than the linkage at the non-reducing end from a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 2 or higher and bearing the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end by α-glucosyl transferring reaction without substantially increasing the reducing power, and has the following physicochemical properties:

(1) Action

-   Forming a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or     higher and bearing both the α-1,6 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at     the non-reducing end and the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than the     linkage at the non-reducing end from a saccharide with a glucose     polymerization degree of 2 or higher and bearing the α-1,4     glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end by     α-glucosyl transferring reaction without substantially increasing     the reducing power;     (2) Molecular Weight -   About 74,000 to 160,000 daltons when determined on sodium dodecyl     sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE);     (3) Optimum Temperature -   About 40° C. to 50° C. when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes; -   About 45° C. to 55° C. when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes in     the presence of 1 mM Ca²⁺; -   About 60° C. when incubated at pH 8.4 for 60 minutes; or -   About 65° C. when incubated at pH 8.4 for 60 minutes in the presence     of 1 mM Ca²⁺;     (4) Optimum pH -   About 6.0 to 8.4 when incubated at 35° C. for 60 minutes;     (5) Thermal Stability -   About 45° C. or lower when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes; -   About 60° C. or lower when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes in the     presence of 1 mM Ca²⁺; -   About 55° C. or lower when incubated at pH 8.0 for 60 minutes; or -   About 60° C. or lower when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes in the     presence of 1 mM Ca²⁺; and     (6) pH Stability -   About 5.0 to 10.0 when incubated at 4° C. for 24 hours.

Polysaccharides comprising the α-1,4 glucosidic linkages such as starch, amylopectin, amylose, and glycogen, and their partial hydrolyzates such as amylodextrins, maltodextrins and maltooligosaccharides, which can be obtained by partially hydrolyzing them with amylases or acids, can be used as a substrate for the polypeptide of the present invention. Saccharides obtained by treating these glucosaccharides having the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage with branching enzymes (EC 2.4.1.18) can be optionally used as the substrate. The partial hydrolyzates obtained by hydrolyzing with amylases such as α-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1), β-amylase (EC 3.2.1.2), maltotriose-forming amylase (EC 3.2.1.116), maltotetraose-forming amylase (EC 3.2.1.60), maltopentaose-forming amylase, and maltohexaose-forming amylase (EC 3.2.1.98), which are described in Handbook of Amylases and Related Enzymes, Pergamon Press, Tokyo, Japan (1988), can be used as the substrate. Further, in the case of preparing the partial hydrolyzate, starch-debranching enzymes such as pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41) and isoamylase (EC 3.2.1.68) can be arbitrarily used. Starches as the substrates include terrestrial starches from grains such as corn, wheat, and rice; and subterranean starches such as potato, sweet-potato, and tapioca. Preferably, these starches are gelatinized and/or liquefied into a liquid form in use. The lower the degree of partial hydrolysis, the higher the yield of cyclotetrasaccharide becomes, and therefore the DE is set to a level of about 20 or lower, preferably, about 12 or lower, more preferably, about five or lower. The concentration of the substrates is not specifically restricted, and the enzymatic reaction in the present invention proceeds even when used at a low concentration as low as 0.1%(w/w) (throughout the specification, “%(w/w)” is abbreviated as “%” hereinafter, unless specified otherwise). However, one percent or higher concentrations of the substrates are preferably used for industrial production. The substrate solutions may be those in a suspension form which contain incompletely-dissolved insoluble substrates. The substrate concentration is preferably 40% or lower, and more preferably 20% or lower. The reaction temperatures used in the present invention are those which proceed the enzymatic reaction, i.e., those up to 65° C., preferably, 30 to 50° C. The pHs for the enzymatic reaction are usually set to 4.5–8, preferably, about 5.5 to about 7. The time for the enzymatic reaction can be appropriately selected depending on the enzymatic reaction efficiency.

By contacting α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme with α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide formed by acting the polypeptide of the present invention on its substrate, cyclotetrasaccharide, which is useful in the art, can be easily produced in a large amount. The α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme can be allowed to act on its substrate after the action and then the inactivation of the polypeptide of the present invention. However, the combinational use of the polypeptide of the present invention and α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme is preferable. Specifically, by using the polypeptide of the present invention together with α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme, cyclotetrasaccharide can be obtained in a yield of about 30%, d.s.b., or higher from starches or partial hydrolyzates thereof, and about 80%, d.s.b., or higher from glycogen. The formation mechanism of cyclotetrasaccharide by the above combinational use can be estimated as follows based on the reaction properties of the two enzymes:

-   (1) The polypeptide of the present invention acts on the α-1,4     glucosyl residue at the non-reducing end of a saccharide, which has     a glucose polymerization degree of 2 or higher and has the α-1,4     glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end, such as     starch, glycogen, and the partial hydrolyzates thereof, to release a     glucose residue; and then intermolecularly transfers the released     glucose residue to the hydroxyl group at C-6 position of the glucose     residue at the non-reducing end of other saccharide and forms a     saccharide having an α-isomaltosyl residue at the non-reducing end; -   (2) The α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme acts on the saccharide     having an α-isomaltosyl residue at the non-reducing end, and then     intermolecularly transfers the residue to the hydroxyl group at C-3     position of a glucose residue of other saccharide having an     α-isomaltosyl residue at the non-reducing end and forms a saccharide     having an α-isomaltosyl-1,3-isomaltosyl residue at the non-reducing     end; -   (3) The α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme acts on a saccharide     having an α-isomaltosyl-1,3-isomaltosyl residue at the non-reducing     end to release the α-isomaltosyl-1,3-isomaltosyl residue from the     saccharide, and intramolecularly cyclizes the residue into     cyclotetrasaccharide; and -   (4) Through the steps (1) to (3), cyclotetrasaccharide is formed     from a remaining saccharide which is formed by releasing the     α-isomaltosyl-1,3-isomaltosyl residue in the step (3), and the yield     of cyclotetrasaccharide is highly increased by sequencially     repeating the steps (1) to (3).

As explained above, it can be estimated that, when used in combination, the polypeptide of the present invention and α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme act on their substrates repeatedly to increase the yield of cyclotetrasaccharide.

During the cyclotetrasaccharide-forming reaction, optionally, other sacchride-transferring enzyme(s) can be advantageously used in combination to improve the yield of cyclotetrasaccharide; when two types of enzymes, i.e., the polypeptide of the present invention and α-isomaltosy-transferring enzyme are allowed to act, for example, on an about 15% solution of partial starch hydrolyzate, cyclotetrasaccharide is produced in a yield of about 55%, while the use of three types of enzymes, i.e., the polypeptide of the present invention, α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme, and cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase, under the same condition described above, increases the maximum yield of cyclotetrasaccharide by about 5–10% to an improved yield of about 60–65%.

The saccharide solutions obtained by the above reaction can be used intact as solutions comprising cyclotetrasaccharide or saccharide compositions of the same. In general, however, they can be purified before use by appropriate purification procedures. Conventional procedures can be appropriately selected as the purification procedures. For example, one or more of the following purification procedures can be used alone or in combination: Decoloration or purification with activated charcoal, desalting by ion-exchange resins in a H- or OH-form, chromatographies such as thin-layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, ion-exchange column chromatography, activated charcoal column chromatography, and silica gel column chromatography, separation using organic solvents such as alcohols and acetone, membrane separation using adequate separability, hydrolysis of remaining saccharides using amylases including α-amylase, β-amylase, glucoamylase (EC 3.2.1.3), and α-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.20), and hydrolysis and removal of the remaining saccharides by fermentation with yeast or by alkaline treatment. Particularly, ion-exchange column chromatography is preferably used as an industrial scale production method; column chromatography using strong-acid cation exchange resin as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Kokai Nos. 23,799/83 and 72,598/83. Using the column chromatography, the contaminating saccharides can be removed to advantageously produce cyclotetrasaccharide with an improved content of the objective saccharide or saccharide compositions comprising the same. In this case, any one of fixed-bed, moving bed, and semi-moving bed methods can be appropriately used.

The resulting cyclotetrasaccharide or saccharide compositions comprising the same can be concentrated into syrup products, and optionally they can be further dried into amorphous powdery products.

To produce cyclotetrasaccharide crystals, for example, high cyclotetrasaccharide content solutions, having a concentration of about 30–90% and a purity of about 50% or higher of cyclotetrasaccharide, are placed into a crystallizer optionally in the presence of an organic solvent, and then gradually cooled while stirring in the presence of 0.1–20%, d.s.b., of a seed crystal to the cyclotetrasaccharide at a temperature of 95° C. or lower, preferably, 10–90° C., to obtain massecuites. The methods to produce cyclotetrasaccharide crystals and saccharide comprising the same from the massecuites include, for example, conventional methods such as block pulverization, fluidized granulation, and spray drying methods. Separation can be optionally selected as the method to produce cyclotetrasaccharide crystals with molasses.

The resulting cyclotetrasaccharide is a stable, high-quality, low sweetness, non-reducing white powder or syrup, and is almost free of browning, smelling, and deterioration of materials even when mixed or processed therewith: The materials are particularly, for example, amino acid-containing substances such as amino acids, oligopeptides, and proteins. Since cyclotetrasaccharide has a clathrating ability, it effectively inhibits the dispersion and quality deterioration of flavorful components and effective ingredients, and stably retains them. For such a purpose, if necessary, the combinational use of cyclotetrasaccharide and other cyclic saccharide(s) such as cyclodextrins, branched-cyclodextrins, cyclodexrans, and cyclofructans can be advantageously used to improve the level of the clathrating ability of cyclotetrasaccharide. The above cyclic saccharides such as cyclodextrins should not be restricted to those with a high purity, and cyclic saccharides with a relatively-low purity such as partial starch hydrolyzates containing a large amount of maltodextrins and various cyclodextrins can be advantageously used.

Since cyclotetrasaccharide, which is obtainable by using the polypeptide of the present invention, is not substantially hydrolyzed by amylases and α-glucosidases, it is free of assimilation by the body when orally administrated. Also, the saccharide is not substantially assimilated by intestinal bacteria, and therefore it can be used as an extremely-low caloric water-soluble dietary fiber. Cyclotetrasaccharide can be also used as a sweetener substantially free from causing dental caries because it is scarcely assimilated by dental caries-inducing bacteria. The saccharide prevents the adhesion and solidification. Cyclotetrasaccharide per se is a nontoxic, harmless, safe and stable natural sweetener. In the case of crystalline cyclotetrasaccharide, it can be advantageously used for tablets and sugar-coated tablets in combination with binders such as pullulan, hydroxyethyl-starch, and polyvinylpyrrolidone. Furthermore, cyclotetrasaccharide has useful properties of osmosis-controlling ability, filler-imparting ability, gloss-imparting ability, moisture-retaining ability, viscosity, crystallization-preventing ability for other saccharides, insubstantial fermentability, etc.

Thus, cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions comprising the same of the present invention can be arbitrarily used as a sweetener, taste-improving agent, quality-improving agent, stabilizer, preventive of discoloration, filler, etc., in a variety of compositions such as food products, tobaccos, cigarettes, feeds, pet foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions comprising the same of the present invention can be used intact as sweeteners. If necessary, they can be advantageously used in combination with other sweeteners, for example, powdery syrup, glucose, fructose, lactose, isomerized sugar, sucrose, maltose, trehalose (α,α-trehalose, α,β-trehalose, and β,β-trehalose), honey, maple sugar, sorbitol, maltitol, dihydrochalcone, stevioside, α-glycosyl stevioside, sweetener of Momordica grosvenori, glycyrrhizin, thaumatin, L-aspartyl L-phenylalanine methyl ester, saccharine, acesulfame K, sucralose, glycine and alanine; and fillers such as dextrin, starch, and lactose. Particularly, cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions comprising the same can be suitably used as a low caloric sweetener, dietary sweetener, or the like in combination with one or more low-caloric sweeteners such as erythritol, xylitol, and maltitol; and/or one or more sweeteners with a relatively-high sweetening power such as α-glycosyl stevioside, thaumatin, L-aspartyl L-phenylalanine methyl ester, saccharine, acesulfame K, and sucralose.

Cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions comprising the same of the present invention can be arbitrarily used intact or, if necessary, after mixing with fillers, excipients, binders, etc., and them formed into products with different shapes such as granules, spheres, sticks, plates, cubes, and tablets.

Cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions comprising the same of the present invention well harmonize with other tastable materials having sour-, salty-, bitter-, astringent-, delicious-, and bitter-taste; and have a high acid- and heat-tolerance. Thus, they can be favorably used to sweeten and/or improve the taste, and quality of food products in general, for example, a soy sauce, powdered soy sauce, miso, “funmatsu-miso” (a powdered miso), “moromi” (a refined sake), “hishio” (a refined soy sauce), “furikake” (a seasoned fishmeal), mayonnaise, dressing, vinegar, “sanbai-zu” (a sauce of sugar, soy sauce and vinegar), “funmatsu-sushi-zu” (powdered vinegar for sushi), “chuka-no-moto” (an instant mix for Chinese dish), “tentsuyu” (a sauce for Japanese deep fat fried food), “mentsuyu” (a sauce for Japanese vermicelli), sauce, catsup, “yakiniku-no-tare” (a sauce for Japanese grilled meat), curry roux, instant stew mix, instant soup mix, “dashi-no-moto” (an instant stock mix), mixed seasoning, “mirin” (a sweet sake), “shin-mirin” (a synthetic mirin), table sugar, and coffee sugar. Also, cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions comprising the same can be arbitrarily used to sweeten and improve the taste, flavor, and quality of “wagashi” (Japanese cakes) such as “senbei” (a rice cracker), “arare” (a rice cake cube), “okoshi” (a millet and rice cake), “gyuhi” (a starch paste), “mochi” (a rise paste) and the like, “manju” (a bun with a bean-jam), “uiro” (a sweet rice jelly), “an” (a bean-jam) and the like, “yokan” (a sweet jelly of beans), “mizu-yokan” (a soft azuki-bean jelly), “kingyoku” (a kind of yokan), jelly, pao de Castella, and “amedama” (a Japanese toffee); Western confectioneries such as a bun, biscuit, cracker, cookie, pie, pudding, butter cream, custardcream, cream puff, waffle, sponge cake, doughnut, chocolate, chewing gum, caramel, nougat, and candy; frozen desserts such as an ice cream and sherbet; syrups such as a “kajitsu-no-syrup-zuke” (a preserved fruit) and “korimitsu” (a sugar syrup for shaved ice); pastes such as a flour paste, peanut paste, and fruit paste; processed fruits and vegetables such as a jam, marmalade, “syrup-zuke” (fruit pickles), and “toka” (conserves); pickles and pickled products such as a “fukujin-zuke” (red colored radish pickles), “bettara-zuke” (a kind of whole fresh radish pickles), “senmai-zuke” (a kind of sliced fresh radish pickles), and “rakkyo-zuke” (pickled shallots); premix for pickles and pickled products such as a “takuan-zuke-no-moto” (a premix for pickled radish), and “hakusai-zuke-no-moto” (a premix for fresh white rape pickles); meat products such as a ham and sausage; products of fish meat such as a fish ham, fish sausage, “kamaboko” (a steamed fish paste), “chikuwa” (a kind of fish paste), and “tenpura” (a Japanease deep-fat fried fish paste); “chinmi” (relish) such as a “uni-no-shiokara” (salted guts of urchin), “ika-no-shiokara” (salted guts of squid), “su-konbu” (processed tangle), “saki-surume” (dried squid strips), “fugu-no-mirin-boshi” (a dried mirin-seasoned swellfish), seasoned fish flour such as of Pacific cod, sea bream, shrimp, etc.; “tsukudani” (foods boiled down in soy sauce) such as those of laver, ediblewildplants, dried squid, small fish, and shellfish; daily dishes such as a “nimame” (cooked beans), potato salad, and “konbu-maki” (a tangle roll); milk products; canned and bottled products such as those of meat, fish meat, fruit, and vegetable; alcoholic beverages such as a synthetic sake, fermented liquor, fruit liquor, and sake; soft drinks such as a coffee, cocoa, juice, carbonated beverage, sour milk beverage, and beverage containing a lactic acid bacterium; instant food products such as instant pudding mix, instant hot cake mix, instant juice, instant coffee, “sokuseki-shiruko” (an instant mix of azuki-bean soup with rice cake), and instant soup mix; and other foods and beverages such as solid foods for babies, foods for therapy, drinks, beverage containing amino acids, peptide foods, and frozen foods.

Cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions comprising the same can be arbitrarily used to improve the taste preference of feeds and pet foods for animals and pets such as domestic animals, poultry, honey bees, silk worms, and fishes; and also they can be arbitrarily used as a sweetener and taste-improving agent, taste-curing agent, quality-improving agent, and stabilizer in other products in a paste or liquid form such as tobacco, cigarette, tooth paste, lipstick, rouge, lip cream, internal liquid medicine, tablet, troche, cod-liver oil in the form of drop, oral refrigerant, cachou, gargle, cosmetic and pharmaceutical. When used as a quality-improving agent or stabilizer, cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions comprising the same can be arbitrarily used in biologically active substances susceptible to lose their effective ingredients and activities, as well as in health foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals containing the biologically active substances. Example of such biologically active substances are liquid preparations containing cytokines such as α-, β-, and γ-interferons, tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), tumor necrosis factor-β(TNF-β), macropharge migration inhibitory factor, colony-stimulating factor, transfer factor, and interleukin 2; liquid preparations containing hormones such as insulin, growth hormone, prolactin, erythropoietin, and follicle-stimulating hormone; biological preparations such as BCG vaccine, Japanese encephalitis vaccine, measles vaccine, live polio vaccine, small pox vaccine, tetanus toxoid, Trimeresurus antitoxin, and human immunoglobulin; antibiotics such as penicillin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, streptomycin, and kanamycin sulfate; vitamins such as thiamin, ribofravin, L-ascorbic acid, cod liver oil, carotenoide, ergosterol, tocopherol; solution of enzymes such as lipase, esterase, urokinase, protease, β-amylase, isoamylase, glucanase, and lactase; extracts such as ginseng extract, turtle extract, chlorella extract, aloe extract, and propolis extract; and royal jelly. By using cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions comprising the same, the above biologically active substances and other paste of living microorganisms such as virus, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast can be arbitrarily prepared into health foods and pharmaceuticals in a liquid, paste, or solid form, which have a satisfactorily-high stability and quality with less fear of losing or inactivating their effective ingredients and activities.

The methods for incorporating cyclotetrasaccharide or the saccharide composition comprising the same into the aforesaid compositions are those which can incorporate cyclotetrasaccharide and the saccharide compositions into a variety of compositions before completion of their processing, and which can be appropriately selected among the following conventional methods; mixing, kneading, dissolving, melting, soaking, penetrating, dispersing, applying, coating, spraying, injecting, crystallizing, and solidifying. The amount of the cyclotetrasaccharide or the saccharide compositions comprising the same to be preferably incorporated into the final compositions is usually in an amount of 0.1% or higher, desirably, 1% or higher.

The following experiments explain the physicochemical properties of the polypeptides having an α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from Bacillus globisporus C11, Bacillus globisporus N75, and Arthrobacter globiformis A19, DNAs encoding the polypeptide having an α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, and the preparation methods of recombinant polypeptides having an α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity.

EXPERIMENT 1 Preparation of a Polypeptide having an α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming Enzyme Activity from Bacillus globisporus C11 Experiment 1-1 Preparation of α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming Enzyme

A liquid culture medium consisting 4% (w/v) of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 1.8% (w/v) of “ASAHIMEAST”, a yeast extract, 0.1% (w/v) of dipotassium phosphate, 0.06% (w/v) of sodium phosphate dodeca-hydrate, 0.05% (w/v) of magnesium sulfate hepta-hydrate, and water was placed in 500-ml Erlenmeyer flasks in a respective amount of 100 ml, sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 20 minutes, cooled and seeded with Bacillus globisporus C11 strain, followed by culturing under rotary-shaking conditions at 27° C. and 230 rpm for 48 hours for a seed culture. About 20 L of a fresh preparation of the same liquid culture medium as used in the above seed culture were placed in a 30 L fermentor, sterilized by heating, and then cooled to 27° C. and inoculated with 1% (v/v) of the seed culture, followed by culturing at 27° C. and pH. 6.0 to 8.0 for 48 hours under aeration-agitation conditions. After the completion of the culture, about 0.55 unit/ml of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and about 1.8 units/ml of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme were detected in the resulting culture by measuring enzyme activities. About 18 L of supernatant obtained by centrifugation (10,000 rpm, 30 minutes) had about 0.51 units/ml of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, i.e., a total activity of about 9,180 units; and about 1.7 units/ml of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity, i.e., a total enzymatic activity of about 30,400 units. Since both enzyme activities were detected mainly in culture supernatant, it was revealed that these enzymes were secretion enzymes secreted in the culture.

The two types of enzymatic activities described above were measured as following. The activity of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme was measured by the following assay: A substrate solution was prepared by dissolving maltotriose in 100 mM acetate buffer (pH 6.0) to give a concentration of 2% (w/v). A reaction mixture was prepared by mixing 0.5 ml of the substrate solution and 0.5 ml of an enzyme solution, and incubated at 35° C. for 60 minutes. After stopping the reaction by boiling for 10 minutes, the amount of maltose formed in the reaction mixture was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). One unit of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming activity was defined as the amount of the enzyme that forms one μmole of maltose per minute under the above conditions. HPLC was carried out using “SHODEX KS-801 column”, Showa Denko K. K., Tokyo, Japan, at a column temperature of 60° C. and a flow rate of 0.5 ml/minutes of water, and using “RI-8012”, a differential refractometer commercialized by Tosoh Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.

The activity of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme was measured by the following assay: A substrate solution was prepared by dissolving panose in 100 mM acetate buffer (pH 6.0) to give a concentration of 2% (w/v). A reaction mixture was prepared by mixing 0.5 ml of the substrate solution and 0.5 ml of an enzyme solution, and incubated at 35° C. for 30 minutes. After stopping the reaction by boiling for 10 minutes, the amount of glucose formed in the reaction mixture was determined by the glucose oxidase-peroxidase method. One unit of α-isomaltosyl-transferring activity was defined as the amount of the enzyme that forms one μmole of glucose per minute under the above conditions.

Experiment 1-2 Preparation of Partially Purified Enzymes

About 18 L of the culture supernatant obtained in Experiment 1-1 were salted out with 80% saturated ammonium sulfate solution and allowed to stand at 4° C. for 24 hours, and the formed precipitates were collected by centrifugation (10,000 rpm, 30 minutes), dissolved in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5), and dialyzed against the same buffer to obtain about 416 ml of a crude enzyme solution. The crude enzyme solution had about 8,440 units of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and about 28,000 units of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme. The crude enzyme solution was subjected to ion-exchange column chromatography using “SEPABEADS FP-DA13” gel, an ion-exchange resin commercialized by Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. Both α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme were eluted as non-adsorbed fractions without adsorbing on “SEPABEADS FP-DA13” gel. The non-adsorbed fraction was collected and dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate. The dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and subjected to affinity column chromatography using 500 ml of “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel, a gel commercialized by Amersham Biosciences K. K., Tokyo, Japan (old name, Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). Enzymatically active components adsorbed on “SEPHACRY HR S-200” gel and, when sequentially eluted with a linear gradient decreasing from 1 M to 0 M of ammonium sulfate and a linear gradient increasing from 0 mM to 100 mM of maltotetraose, the α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme and the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme were separately eluted, i.e., the former was eluted with a linear gradient of ammonium sulfate at about 0.3 M and the latter was eluted with a linear gradient of maltotetraose at about 30 mM. Thus, fractions with the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity and those with the α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity were separately collected as partially purified preparations of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme. Further, these enzyme preparations were purified separately.

Experiment 1-3 Purification of a Polypeptide having an α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming Enzyme Activity

The partially purified enzyme preparation having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, obtained in Experiment 1-2, was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate. The dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and subjected to hydrophobic column chromatography using 350 ml of “BUTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel, a hydrophobic gel commercialized by Tosoh Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. The enzyme was adsorbed on “BUTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel and, when eluted with a linear gradient decreasing from 1 M to 0M of ammonium sulfate, the enzymatic activity was eluted with a linear gradient of ammonium sulfate at about 0.3 M, and fractions with the enzyme activity was collected. The collected solution was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate, and the dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and purified by affinity chromatography using “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel. The amount of enzyme activity, specific activity and yield of the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme in each purification step are shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Enzyme* Specific activity activity of enzyme* Yield Purification step (unit) (unit/mg protein) (%) Culture supernatant 9,180 0.14 100 Dialyzed solution after 8,440 0.60 91.9 salting out with ammonium sulfate Elute from ion-exchange 6,620 1.08 72.1 column chromatography Elute from affinity column 4,130 8.83 45.0 chromatography Elute from hydrophobic 3,310 11.0 36.1 column chromatography Elute from affinity column 2,000 13.4 21.8 chromatography Note: The symbol “*” means the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme of the present invention.

The finally purified α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme polypeptide specimen was assayed for purity on gel electrophoresis using a 7.5% (w/v) polyacrylamide gel and detected on the gel as a single protein band, i.e., a high purity specimen.

Experiment 1-4 Purification of a Polypeptide having an α-Isomaltosyl-transferring Enzyme Activity

The partially purified enzyme preparation having α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity, obtained in Experiment 1-2, was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate. The dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and subjected to hydrophobic column chromatography using 350 ml of “BUTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel, a hydrophobic gel commercialized by Tosoh Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. The enzyme adsorbed on “BUTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel and, when eluted with a linear gradient decreasing from 1 M to 0M of ammonium sulfate, the enzymatically active fractions were eluted with a linear gradient of ammonium sulfate at about 0.3 M, and fractions with the enzyme activity was collected. The collected solution was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate, and the dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and purified by affinity chromatography using “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel. The amount of enzyme activity, specific activity and yield of the α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme in each purification step are in Table 2.

Enzyme* Specific activity activity of enzyme* Yield Purification step (unit) (unit/mg protein) (%) Culture supernatant 30,400 0.45 100 Dialyzed solution after 28,000 1.98 92.1 salting out with ammonium sulfate Elute from ion-exchange 21,800 3.56 71.7 column chromatography Elute from affinity column 13,700 21.9 45.1 chromatography Elute from hydrophobic 10,300 23.4 33.9 column chromatography Elute from affinity column 5,510 29.6 18.1 chromatography Note: The symbol “*” means the α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme.

The finally purified α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme specimen was assayed for purify on gel electrophoresis using a 7.5% (w/v) polyacrylamide gel and detected on the gel as a single protein band, i.e., a high purity polypeptide.

EXPERIMENT 2 Preparation of a Polypeptide having an α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming Enzyme Activity from Bacillus globisporus N75 Experiment 2-1 Preparation of α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming Enzyme

A liquid culture medium consisting 4% (w/v) of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 1.8% (w/v) of “ASAHIMEAST”, a yeast extract, 0.1% (w/v) of dipotassium phosphate, 0.06% (w/v) of sodium phosphate dodeca-hydrate, 0.05% (w/v) of magnesium sulfate hepta-hydrate, and water was placed in 500-ml Erlenmeyer flasks in a respective amount of 100 ml, sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 20 minutes, cooled and seeded with Bacillus globisporus N75, followed by culturing under rotary-shaking conditions at 27° C. and 230 rpm for 48 hours for a seed culture. About 20 L of a fresh preparation of the same liquid culture medium as used in the above seed culture were placed in a 30 L fermentor, sterilized by heating, and then cooled to 27° C. and inoculated with 1% (v/v) of the seed culture, followed by culturing at 27° C. and pH 6.0 to 8.0 for 48 hours under aeration-agitation conditions. After the completion of the culture, about 0.34 unit/ml of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and about 1.1 units/ml of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme were detected in the resulting culture by measuring enzyme activities. About 18 L of supernatant obtained by centrifugation (10,000 rpm, 30 minutes) had about 0.33 units/ml of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, i.e., a total activity of about 5,940 units; and about 1.1 units/ml of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity, i.e., a total enzymatic activity of about 19,800 units. Since both enzyme activities were detected mainly in culture supernatant, it was revealed that these enzymes were secretion enzymes secreted in the culture.

Experiment 2-2 Preparation of Partially Purified Enzymes

About 18 L of the culture supernatant obtained in Experiment 2-1 was salted out with 80% saturated ammonium sulfate solution and allowed to stand at 4° C. for 24 hours, and the formed precipitates were collected by centrifugation (10,000 rpm, 30 minutes), dissolved in 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.3), and dialyzed against the same buffer to obtain about 450 ml of crude enzyme solution. The crude enzyme solution had about 4,710 units of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity and about 15,700 units of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity. The crude enzyme solution was subjected to ion-exchange column chromatography using “SEPABEADS FP-DA13” gel, disclosed in Experiment 1-1. α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme was adsorbed on “SEPABEADS FP-DA13” gel, and α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme was eluted as non-adsorbed fraction without adsorbing on “SEPABEADS FP-DA13” gel. Subsequently, α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme was eluted with a linear gradient of increasing from 0 M to 1 M of sodium chloride, where the enzyme was eluted with the linear gradient of sodium chloride at a concentration of about 0.25 M. Therefore, fractions with α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and with α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme were separately collected as partially purified enzyme preparation having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity and that having α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity, respectively. Further, these enzyme preparations were separately purified.

Experiment 2-3 Purification of a Polypeptide having α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming Enzyme Activity

The partially purified enzyme preparation having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, obtained in Experiment 2-2, was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate. The dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and subjected to affinity column chromatography using 500 ml of “SEPHACRYL HR S-200“ gel, a gel commercialized by Amersham Biosciences K. K., Tokyo, Japan (old name, Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). The enzyme was adsorbed on “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel and, when sequentially eluted with a linear gradient decreasing from 1 M to 0 M of ammonium sulfate and a linear gradient increasing from 0 mN to 100 mM of maltotetraose, the enzymatic activity was eluted with a linear gradient of maltotetraose at about 30 mM, and fractions with the enzyme activity was collected. The collected solution was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate, and the dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and purified by hydrophobic column chromatography using 350 ml of ”BUTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel, a hydrophobic gel commercialized by Tosoh Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. The enzyme was adsorbed on “BUTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel and, when eluted with a linear gradient decreasing from 1 M to 0 M of ammonium sulfate, the enzymatic activity was eluted with a linear gradient of ammonium sulfate at about 0.3 M, and fractions with the enzyme activity was collected. The collected solution was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate, and the dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and purified by affinity chromatography using “SEPHACRLY HR S-200” gel. The amount of enzyme activity, specific activity and yield of the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme in each purification step are shown in Table 3.

Enzyme* Specific activity activity of enzyme* Yield Purification step (unit) (unit/mg protein) (%) Culture supernatant 5,940 0.10 100 Dialyzed solution after 4,710 0.19 79.3 salting out with ammonium sulfate Elute from ion-exchange 3,200 2.12 53.9 column chromatography Elute from affinity column 2,210 7.55 37.2 chromatography Elute from hydrophobic 1,720 10.1 29.0 column chromatography Elute from affinity column 1,320 12.5 22.2 chromatography Note: The symbol “*” means the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme of the present invention.

The finally purified α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme specimen was assayed for purify on gel electrophoresis using a 7.5% (w/v) polyacrylamide gel and detected on the gel as a single protein band, i.e., a high purity polypeptide.

Experiment 2-4 Purification of a Polypeptide having an α-Isomaltosyl-transferring Enzyme Activity

The partially purified enzyme preparation having α-isomaltosyl-transferring activity, obtained in Experiment 2-2, was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate. The dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and subjected to affinity column chromatography using 500 ml of “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel, a gel commercialized by Amersham Biosciences K. K., Tokyo, Japan (old name, Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). The enzyme was adsorbed on “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel and, when eluted with a linear gradient decreasing from 1 M to 0M of ammonium sulfate, the enzymatic activity was eluted with a linear gradient of ammonium sulfate at about 0.3 M, and fractions with the enzyme activity was collected. The collected solution was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate, and the dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and purified by hydrophobic column chromatography using “BUTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel, a hydrophobic gel commercialized by Tosoh Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. The polypeptide was adsorbed on “BUTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel and, when eluted with a linear gradient decreasing from 1 M to 0M of ammonium sulfate, the enzymatic activity was eluted with a linear gradient of ammonium sulfate at about 0.3 M, and fractions with the enzyme activity was collected. The collected solution was dialyzed against 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.0), and the dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and purified by ion-exchange column chromatography using 380 ml of “SUPER Q-TOYOPEARL 650C” gel, an ion-exchange gel commercialized by Tosoh Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. The enzyme was eluted as non-adsorbed fraction without adsorbing on “SUPER Q-TOYOPEARL 650C” gel. The purified polypeptide specimen having α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity was obtained by collecting the fractions. The amount of enzyme activity, specific activity and yield of the α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme in each purification step are shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Enzyme* Specific activity activity of enzyme* Yield Purification step (unit) (unit/mg protein) (%) Culture supernatant 19,000 0.33 100 Dialyzed solution after 15,700 0.64 82.6 salting out with ammonium sulfate Elute from ion-exchange 12,400 3.56 65.3 column chromatography Elute from affinity column 8,320 11.7 43.8 chromatography Elute from hydrophobic 4,830 15.2 25.4 column chromatography Elute from ion-exchange 3,850 22.6 20.3 column chromatography Note: The symbol “*” means the α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme.

The finally purified α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme specimen was assayed for purify on gel electrophoresis using a 7.5% (w/v) polyacrylamide gel and detected on the gel as a single protein band, i.e., a high purity polypeptide.

EXPERIMENT 3 Preparation of a Polypeptide having an α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming Enzyme Activity from Arthrobacter globiformis A19 Experiment 3-1 Preparation of α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming Enzyme

A liquid culture medium consisting 4% (w/v) of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 1.8% (w/v) of “ASAHIMEAST”, a yeast extract, 0.1% (w/v) of dipotassium phosphate, 0.06% (w/v) of sodium phosphate dodeca-hydrate, 0.05% (w/v) of magnesium sulfate hepta-hydrate, and water was placed in 500-ml Erlenmeyer flasks in a respective amount of 100 ml, sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 20 minutes, cooled and seeded with Arthrobacter globiformis A19, followed by culturing under rotary-shaking conditions at 27° C. and 230 rpm for 48 hours for a seed culture. About 20 L of a fresh preparation of the same liquid culture medium as used in the above seed culture were placed in a 30 L fermentor, sterilized by heating, and then cooled to 27° C. and inoculated with 1% (v/v) of the seed culture, followed by culturing at 27° C. and pH 6.0 to 9.0 for 48 hours under aeration-agitation conditions. After the completion of the culture, about 1.1 unit/ml of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and about 1.7 units/ml of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme were detected in the resulting culture by measuring enzyme activities. About 18 L of supernatant obtained by centrifugation (10,000 rpm, 30 minutes) had about 1.06 units/ml of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, i.e., a total activity of about 19,100 units; and about 1.6 units/ml of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity, i.e., a total enzymatic activity of about 28,800 units. Since both enzyme activities were detected mainly in culture supernatant, it was revealed that these enzymes were secretion enzymes secreted in the culture. Except for using 100 mM Glycine-NaOH buffer (pH 8.4) as the buffer to dissolve the substrate, the activity of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme from Arthrobacter globiformis A19 was measured according to the method described in Experiment 1

Experiment 3-2 Preparation of Partially Purified Enzymes

About 18 L of the culture supernatant obtained in Experiment 3-1 was salted out with 60% saturated ammonium sulfate solution and allowed to stand at 4° C. for 24 hours, and the formed precipitates were collected by centrifugation (10,000 rpm, 30 minutes), dissolved in 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.0), and dialyzed against the same buffer to obtain about 850 ml of crude enzyme solution. The crude enzyme solution had about 8,210 units of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity and about 15,700 units of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity. The crude enzyme solution was subjected to ion-exchange column chromatography using 380 ml of “DEAE-TOYOPEARL 650S” gel, an ion-exchange gel commercialized by Tosoh Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. Both enzymes were adsorbed on “DEAE-TOYOPEARL 650S” gel and eluted with a linear gradient of increasing from 0 M to 1 M of sodium chloride, where α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme were eluted with the linear gradient of sodium chloride at concentrations of about 0.2 M and about 0.3 M, respectively. Therefore, fractions with α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme and with α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme were separately collected as partially purified enzyme preparation having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity and that having α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity, respectively. Further, these enzyme preparations were separately purified.

Experiment 3-3 Purification of a Polypeptide having α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming Enzyme Activity

The partially purified enzyme preparation having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, obtained in Experiment 3-2, was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate. The dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and subjected to affinity column chromatography using 500 ml of “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel, a gel commercialized by Amersham Biosciences K. K., Tokyo, Japan (old name, Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). The enzyme was adsorbed on “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel and, when eluted with a linear gradient decreasing from 1 M to 0 M of ammonium sulfate, the enzymatic activity was eluted with a linear gradient of ammonium sulfate at about 0.2 M, and fractions with the enzyme activity was collected as purified enzyme preparation. The amount of enzyme activity, specific activity and yield of the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme in each purification step are shown in Table 5.

TABLE 5 Enzyme* Specific activity activity of enzyme* Yield Purification step (unit) (unit/mg protein) (%) Culture supernatant 19,100 0.11 100 Dialyzed solution after 8,210 0.48 43.0 salting out with ammonium sulfate Elute from ion-exchange 6,890 4.18 36.1 column chromatography Elute from affinity column 5,220 35.1 27.3 chromatography Note: The symbol “*” means the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme of the present invention.

The finally purified α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme specimen was assayed for purity on gel electrophoresis using a 7.5% (w/v) polyacrylamide gel and detected on the gel as a single protein band, i.e., a high purity polypeptide.

Experiment 3-4 Partial Purification of a Polypeptide having an α-Isomaltosyl-transferring Enzyme Activity

The partially purified enzyme preparation having α-isomaltosyl-transferring activity, obtained in Experiment 3-2, was dialyzed against 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) with 1 M ammonium sulfate. The dialyzed solution was centrifuged to remove impurities, and subjected to affinity column chromatography using 500 ml of “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel, a gel commercialized by Amersham Biosciences K. K., Tokyo, Japan (old name, Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). The enzyme was adsorbed on “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel and, when eluted with a linear gradient decreasing from 1 M to 0 M of ammonium sulfate, the enzymatic activity was eluted with a linear gradient of ammonium sulfate at about 0 M, and fractions with the enzyme activity was collected as partially purified enzyme preparation. The amount of enzyme activity, specific activity and yield of the α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme in each purification step are shown in Table 6.

TABLE 6 Enzyme* Specific activity activity of enzyme* Yield Purification step (unit) (unit/mg protein) (%) Culture supernatant 28,800 0.18 100 Dialyzed solution after 15,700 0.97 54.5 salting out with ammonium sulfate Elute from ion-exchange 7,130 4.01 24.8 column chromatography Elute from affinity column 1,800 11.9 6.3 chromatography Note: The symbol “*” means the α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme.

The partially purified α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme specimen was assayed for purity on gel electrophoresis using a 7.5% (w/v) polyacrylamide gel and detected on the gel as one main and three minor protein bands.

Experiment 4-1 Action on Saccharides

It was tested whether saccharides can be used as substrates for the polypeptide of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme of the present invention. For the purpose, a solution of maltose, maltotriose, maltotetraose, maltopentaose, maltohexaose, maltoheptaose, isomaltose, isomaltotriose, panose, isopanose, trehalose, kojibiose, nigerose, neotrehalose, cellobiose, gentibiose, maltitol, maltotriitol, lactose, sucrose, erlose, selaginose, maltosyl glucoside, or isomaltosyl glucoside was prepared.

To each of the above solutions was added two units/g substrate of a purified polypeptide specimen of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme from either Bacillus globisporus C11 obtained by the method in Experiment 1-3, Bacillus globisporus N75 obtained by the method in Experiment 2-3, or Arthrobacter globiformis A19 obtained by the method in Experiment 3-3, and the resulting each solution was adjusted to give a substrate concentration of 2% (w/v) and incubated at 30° C. and pH 6.0, except for using pH 8.4 for the enzyme from Arthrobacter globiformis A19, for 24 hours. In order to analyze the saccharides in the reaction mixture before and after the enzymatic reaction, silica gel thin-layer chromatography (hereinafter, abbreviated as “TLC”) was carried out. After two-times development using, as a developer, a mixture solution of n-butanol, pyridine, and water (=6:4:1), and, as a thin-layer plate, “KIESELGEL 60”, an aluminum plate (20×20 cm) for TLC commercialized by Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, USA, the saccharides in the reaction mixture were examined whether the enzyme acted or not by the coloration of sugars by the sulfuric acid-methanol method. The results are shown in Table 7.

TABLE 7 Enzyme action Substrate C11 enzyme N75 enzyme A19 enzyme Maltose + + + Maltotriose ++ ++ ++ Maltotetraose +++ +++ +++ Maltopentaose +++ +++ +++ Maltohexaose +++ +++ +++ Maltoheptaose +++ +++ +++ Isomaltose − − − Isomaltotriose − − − Panose − − − Isopanose ++ ++ ++ Trehalose − − − Kojibiose + + + Nigerose + + + Neotrehalose + + + Cellobiose − − − Gentibiose − − − Maltitol − − − Maltotriitol + + + Lactose − − − Sucrose − − − Erlose + + + Selaginose − − − Maltosyl glucoside ++ ++ ++ Isomaltosyl glucoside − − − Note: Before and after the enzymatic reaction, The symbols “−”, “+”, “++”, and “+++” mean that it showed no change, it showed a slight reduction of the color spot of the substrate and the formation of other reaction product, it showed a high reduction of the color spot of the substrate and the formationof other reaction product, and it showed a substantial disappearance of the substrate spot and the formation of other reaction product, respectively.

As evident from the Table 7, it was revealed that the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity well acted on saccharide having a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or higher and bearing a maltose structure at their non-reducing ends, among the saccharides tested. It was also found that the polypeptide slightly acted on saccharides, having glucose polymerization degree of two, such as maltose, kojibiose, nigerose, neotrehalose, maltotriitol, and erlose.

Experiment 4-2 Reaction Product from Maltooligosaccharide

To an aqueous solution containing one percent (w/v) of maltose, maltotriose, maltotetraose, or maltopentaose as a substrate was added the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccgaride-forming enzyme activity, obtained in Experiment 1-3, in an amount of two units/g-solid for maltose and maltotriose, 0.2 unit/g-solid for maltotetraose, and 0.1 unit/g-solid for maltopentaose, followed by incubation at 35° C. and pH 6.0 for 8 hours. After stopping the enzymatic reaction by a 10-minutes incubation, sugar compositions in the reaction mixture were measured by HPLC using “YMC Pack ODS-AQ303”, a column commercialized by YMC Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, at a column temperature of 40° C. and a flow rate of 0.5 ml/minutes of water, and using as a detector “RI-8012”, a differential refractometer commercialized by Tosoh Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. The results are in Table 8.

TABLE 8 Saccharide as Reaction Substrate product Mlatose Maltotriose Maltotetraose Maltopentaose Glucose 8.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 Maltose 78.0 17.9 0.3 0.0 Maltotriose 0.8 45.3 22.7 1.9 Maltotetraose 0.0 1.8 35.1 19.2 Maltopentaose 0.0 0.0 3.5 34.4 Maltohexaose 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.6 Isomaltose 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 Glucosyl- 8.2 1.2 0.0 0.0 maltose Glucosyl- 2.4 31.5 6.8 0.0 maltotriose X 0.0 2.1 30.0 11.4 Y 0.0 0.0 1.4 26.8 Z 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.7 Others 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.0 Note: In the table, glucosylmaltose means α-isomaltosylglucose alias 6²-O-α-glucosylmaltose or panose; glucosylmaltotriose means α-isomaltosylmaltose alias 6³-O-α-glucosylmaltotriose; X means the α-isomaltosylmaltotriose in the present Experiment, alias 6⁴-O-α-glucosylmaltotetraose; Y means the α- isomaltosylmaltotetraose in the present Experiment, alias 6⁵-O-α-glucosylmaltopentaose; and Z means an unidentified saccharide.

As evident from the results in Table 8, it was revealed that, after the action of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, glucose and α-isomaltosylglucose alias 6²-O-α-glucosylmaltose or panose were mainly formed from maltose as a substrate; and maltose and α-isomaltosylmaltose alias 6³-O-α-glucosylmaltotriose were mainly formed from malotriose as a substrate along with small amounts of glucose, maltotetraose, α-isomaltosylglucose alias 6²-O-α-glucosylmaltose, and the product X. Also, it was revealed that maltotriose and the product X were mainly formed from maltotetraose as a substrate along with small amounts of maltose, maltopentaose, α-isomaltosylmaltose alias 6³-O-α-glucosylmaltotriose, and the product Y; and maltotetraose and the product Y were mainly formed from maltopentaose as a substrate along with small amounts of maltotriose, maltohexaose, the product X, and the product Z.

The product X as a main product from maltotetraose as a substrate and the product Y as a main product from maltopentaose as a substrate were respectively purified and isolated. The products X and Y were respectively purified on HPLC using “YMC-Pack ODS-A R355-15S-15 12A”, a preparative HPLC column commercialized by YMC Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, to isolate a specimen of the product X having a purity of 99.9% or higher from the reaction product from maltotetraose in a yield of about 8.3%, d.s.b., and a specimen of the product Y having a purity of 99.9% or higher from the reaction product from maltopentaose in a yield of about 11.5%, d.s.b.

The products X and Y were subjected to methylation analysis and NMR analysis in a usual manner. The results on their methylation analysis are in Table 9. For the results on their NMR analyses, FIGS. 1 and 2 are ¹H-NMR spectra for the products X and Y, respectively. The 13C-NMR spectra for the products X and Y are FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively. The assignment of the products X and Y are tabulated in Table 10.

TABLE 9 Analyzed Ratio methyl compound Product X Product Y 2,3,4-trimethyl compound 1.00 1.00 2,3,6-trimethyl compound 3.05 3.98 2,3,4,6-tetramethyl compound 0.82 0.85

Based on these results, the product X formed from maltotetraose via the action of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity was revealed as a pentasaccharide, in which a glucose residue bound via α-linkage to C6-OH of glucose at the non-reducing end of maltotetraose, i.e., α-isomaltosylmaltotriose alias 6⁴-O-α-glucosylmaltotetraose, represented by Formula 1. α-D-Glcp-(1→6)-α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-α-D-Glcp  Formula 1

The product Y formed from maltopentaose was revealed as a hexasaccharide, in which a glucose residue bound via α-linkage to C6-OH of glucose at the non-reducing end of maltopentaose, i.e., α-isomaltosylmaltotetraose alias 6⁵-O-α-glucosylmaltopentaose, represented by Formula 2. α-D-Glcp-(1→6)-α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→4)-α-D-Glcp  Formula 2

TABLE 10 Glucose Carbon Chemical shift on NMR (ppm) number number Product X Product Y a 1a 100.8 100.8 2a 74.2 74.2 3a 75.8 75.7 4a 72.2 72.2 5a 74.5 74.5 6a 63.2 63.1 b 1b 102.6 102.6 2b 74.2 74.2 3b 75.8 75.7 4b 72.1 72.1 5b 74.0 74.0 6b 68.6 68.6 c 1c 102.3 102.3 2c 74.2 74.2 3c 76.0 76.0 4c 79.6 79.5 5c 73.9 73.9 6c 63.2 63.1 d 1d 102.2 102.3 2d 74.0(α), 74.4(β) 74.2 3d 76.0 76.0 4d 79.8 79.5 5d 73.9 73.9 6d 63.2 63.1 e 1e 94.6(α), 98.5(β) 102.1 2e 74.2(α), 76.7(β) 74.0(α), 74.4(β) 3e 75.9(α), 78.9(β) 76.0 4e 79.6(α), 79.4(β) 79.8 5e 72.6(α), 77.2(β) 73.9 6e 63.4(α), 63.4(β) 63.1 f 1f 94.6(α), 98.5(β) 2f 74.2(α), 76.7(β) 3f 76.0(α), 78.9(β) 4f 79.6(α), 79.5(β) 5f 72.6(α), 77.2(β) 6f 63.3(α), 63.3(β)

Based on these results, it was concluded that the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity acts on maltooligosaccharides as shown below:

-   1) The polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming     enzyme activity acts on as a substrate saccharides with a glucose     polymerization degree of two or higher and having α-1,4 glucosidic     linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end, and catalyzes the     intermolecular 6-glucosyl-transferring reaction in such a manner of     transferring a glucosyl residue at the non-reducing end of the     saccharide molecule to C-6 position of the non-reducing end of other     saccharide molecule to form both an α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide     alias 6-O-α-glucosylmaltooligosaccharide, having a 6-O-α-glucosyl     residue and a higher glucose polymerization degree by one as     compared with the intact substrate, and a maltooligosaccharide with     a reduced glucose polymerization degree by one as compared with the     intact substrate; and -   2) The polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming     enzyme activity slightly catalyzes the 4-glucosyl-transferring     reaction and forms small amounts of both a maltooligosaccharide,     having an increased glucose polymerization degree by one as compared     with the intact substrate, and a maltooligosaccharide having a     reduced glucose polymerization degree by one as compared with the     intact substrate.

Experiment 4-3 Test on Reducing-power Formation

The following test was carried out to study whether the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity had the ability of forming reducing-power or not. To a 1% (w/v) aqueous solution of maltotetraose as a substrate was added 0.25 unit/g substrate, d.s.b., of either of purified polypeptide specimen of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme from Bacillus globisporus C11 obtained by the method in Experiment 1-3, Bacillus globisporus N75 obtained by the method in Experiment2-3, or Arthrobacter globiformis A19 obtained by the method in Experiment 3-3, and incubated at 35° C. and at pH 6.0, except that pH 8.4 was used for the enzyme from Arthrobacter globiformis A19. During the reaction, a portion of each reaction mixture was sampled at prescribed time intervals and measured for reducing power after keeping at 100° C. for 10 minutes to stop the enzymatic reaction. Before and after the enzymatic reaction, the reducing sugar content and total sugar content were respectively quantified by the Somogyi-Nelson method and anthrone-sulfuric acid method. The percentage of forming reducing power was calculated by the following equation: Percentage of forming reducing power (%)=(AR/AT−BR/BT)×100  Equation:

-   AR: Reducing sugar content after enzymatic reaction. -   AT: Total sugar content after enzymatic reaction. -   BR: Reducing sugar content before enzymatic reaction. -   BT: Total sugar content before enzymatic reaction.

The results are in Table 11.

TABLE 11 Percentage of forming reducing power (%) Reaction time Enzyme of Enzyme of Enzyme of (hour) Strain C11 Strain N75 Strain A19 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 0.1 0.1 0.0 2 0.0 0.0 0.1 4 0.1 0.0 0.0 8 0.0 0.1 0.1

As evident from the results in Table 11, it was revealed that the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity did not substantially increase the reducing power of the reaction product when acted on maltotetraose as a substrate; the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity did not have hydrolyzing activity or had only an undetectable level of such activity.

Experiment 4-4 Molecular Weight

Purified specimens of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from Bacillus globisporus C11 obtained by the method in Experiment 1-3, Bacillus globisporus N75 obtained by the method in Experiment 2-3, and Arthrobacter globiformis A19 obtained by the method in Experiment 3-3 were subjected to SDS-PAGE using 7.5% (w/v) of polyacrylamide gel and then determined for their molecular weights by comparing with the dynamics of standard molecular weight markers electrophoresed in parallel, commercialized by Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Brussels, Belgium. It was revealed that the polypeptides from C11, N75, and A19 had molecular weights of about 137,000±20,000 daltons, about 136,000±20,000 daltons, and about 94,000±20,000 daltons, respectively.

Experiment 4-5 Isoelectric Point

Purified specimens of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from Bacillus globisporus C11 obtained by the method in Experiment 1-3, Bacillus globisporus N75 obtained by the method in Experiment 2–3, and Arthrobacter globiformis A19 obtained by the method in Experiment 3-3 were subjected to isoelectrophoresis using a gel containing 2% (w/v) ampholine commercialized by Amersham Biosciences K. K., Tokyo, Japan (old name, Amersham Pharmacia Biotech), and then measured pHs of protein bands and gel to determine their isoelectric points. It was revealed that the polypeptides from C11, N75, and A19 had isoelectric points of about 5.2±0.5, about 7.3±0.5, and about 4.3±0.5, respectively.

Experiment 4-6 Effect of Temperature and pH

The effect of temperature and pH on the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity was examined in accordance with the assay for the α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity under various temperature and pH conditions. The effect of temperature was conducted in the presence or absence of 1 mM Ca²⁺. These results are shown in FIG. 5 (effect of temperature on the polypeptide from a strain C11), FIG. 6 (effect of temperature on the polypeptide from a strain N75), FIG. 7 (effect of temperature on the polypeptide from a strain A19), FIG. 8 (effect of pH on the polypeptide from a strain C11), FIG. 9 (effect of pH on the polypeptide from a strain N75), and FIG. 10 (effect of pH on the polypeptide from a strain A19). The optimum temperature of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a strain C11 was about 45° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 50° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺) when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes, and the optimum pH was about 6.0 when incubated at 35° C. for 60 minutes. The optimum temperature of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a strain N75 was about 50° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 55° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺) when incubated at pH 6.0 for 60 minutes, and the optimum pH was about 6.0 when incubated at 35° C. for 60 minutes. The optimum temperature of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a strain A19 was about 60° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 65° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺) when incubated at pH 8.4 for 60 min, and the optimum pH was about 8.4 when incubated at 35° C. for 60 minutes.

Experiment 4-7 Stability

The thermal stability of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity was determined by incubating the testing polypeptide solution in 20 mM acetate buffer, pH6.0 (in the case of the polypeptide from a strain A19, 20 m M Glycine-NaOH buffer, pH 8.0) at prescribed temperatures for 60 minutes in the presence or absence of 1 mM Ca²⁺, cooling with water the resulting polypeptide solutions, and assaying the residual enzyme activity of each solution. The pH stability of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity was determined by keeping the testing polypeptide solutions in 50 mM buffer having prescribed pHs at 4° C. for 24 hours, adjusting the pH of each solution to 6.0 (in the case of the polypeptide from a strain A19, pH 8.0), and assaying the residual enzyme activity of each solution. These results are shown in FIG. 11 (thermal stability of the polypeptide from a strain C11), FIG. 12 (thermal stability of the polypeptide from a strain N75), FIG. 13 (thermal stability of the polypeptide from a strain A19), FIG. 14 (pH stability of the polypeptide from a strain C11), FIG. 15 (pH stability of the polypeptide from a strain N75), and FIG. 16 (pH stability of the polypeptide from a strain A19). The thermal stability of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a strain C11 was up to about 40° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 45° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺), and pH stability of about 5.0 to about 10.0. The thermal stability of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a strain N75 was up to about 45° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 50° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺), and pH stability of about 5.0 to about 9.0. The thermal stability of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from a strain A19 was up to about 55° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 60° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺), and pH stability of about 5.0 to about 9.0.

EXPERIMENT 5 Partial Amino Acid Sequence Experiment 5-1 N-Terminal Amino Acid Sequence

Purified specimens of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity from Bacillus globisporus C11 obtained by the method in Experiment 1-3, Bacillus globisporus N75 obtained by the method in Experiment 2-3, and Arthrobacter globiformis A19 obtained by the method in Experiment 3-3 were subjected to N-terminal sequence analysis by using “gas-phase protein sequencer model 473A”, an apparatus of Applied Biosystems, 850 Lincoln Centre Drive, Foster City, U.S.A. It was revealed that the polypeptides having α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme activity from strains C11, N75, and A19 had amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 7, 19, and 26, respectively.

Experiment 5-2 Internal Amino Acid Sequences of the Polypeptide from Bacillus globisporus C11

A part of a purified specimen of polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, obtained in Experiment 1–3, was dialyzed against 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 9.0), and the dialyzed solution was diluted with a fresh preparation of the same buffer to give a concentration of about one mg/ml. One milliliter of the diluted solution as a test sample was admixed with 10 μg of trypsin commercialized by Wako Pure Chemicals, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, and incubated at 30° C. for 22 hours to form peptides. The resulting hydrolyzate was subjected to reverse-phase HPLC to separate the peptides using “μ-BONDAPAK C18 column”, having a diameter of 2.1 mm and a length of 150 mm, a product of Waters Chromatography Div., MILLIPORE Corp., Milford, USA, pre-equilibrated with 0.1% (v/v) trifluoroacetate containing 8% (v/v) acetonitrile, at a flow rate of 0.9 ml/minutes and at ambient temperature, and using a linear gradient of acetonitrile increasing from 8% (v/v) to 40% (v/v) in 0.1% (v/v) trifluoroacetate over 120 minutes. Peptide fragments eluted from the column were detected by monitoring the absorbance at a wavelength of 210 nm. Ten peptide fragments, P8 (Retention time (Rt): about 8 minutes), P20 (Rt: about 20 minutes), P56 (Rt: about 56 minutes), P60 (Rt: about 60 minutes), P62 (Rt: about 62 minutes), P64 (Rt: about 64 minutes), P75 (Rt: about 75 minutes), P82 (Rt: about 82 minutes), P88 (Rt: about 88 minutes), P99 (Rt: about 99 minutes), which were separated well from other peptides, were separately collected and dried in vacuo and then dissolved in a 200 μl solution of 0.1% (v/v) trifluoroacetate and 50% (v/v) acetonitrile. Each peptide fragment had amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 8 to 17 when these amino acid sequences were analyzed by the protein sequencer used in Experiment 5-1.

Experiment 5-3 Internal Amino Acid Sequences of the Polypeptide from Bacillus globisporus N75

A part of a purified specimen of polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, obtained in Experiment 2-3, was dialyzed against 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 9.0), and the dialyzed solution was diluted with a fresh preparation of the same buffer to give a concentration of about one mg/ml. One milliliter of the diluted solution as a test sample was admixed with 20 μg of “Lysyl Endopeptidase” commercialized by Wako Pure Chemicals, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, and incubated at 30° C. for 24 hours to form peptides. The resulting hydrolyzate was subjected to reverse-phase HPLC to separate the peptides using “μ-BONDASPHERE C18 column”, having a diameter of 3.9 mm and a length of 150 mm, a product of Waters Chromatography Div., MILLIPORE Corp., Milford, USA, pre-equilibrated with 0.1% (v/v) trifluoroacetate containing 8% (v/v) acetonitrile, at a flow rate of 0.9 ml/minutes and at ambient temperature, and using a linear gradient of acetonitrile increasing from 8% (v/v) to 36% (v/v) in 0.1% (v/v) trifluoroacetate over 120 minutes. Peptide fragments eluted from the column were detected by monitoring the absorbance at a wavelength of 210 nm. Five peptide fragments, PN47 (Rt: about 47 minutes), PN59 (Rt: about 59 minutes), PN67 (Rt: about 67 minutes), PN87 (Rt: about 87 minutes), PN89 (Rt: about 89 minutes), which were separated well from other peptides, were separately collected and dried in vacuc and then dissolved in a 200 μl solution of 0.1% (v/v) trifluoroacetate and 50% (v/v) acetonitrile. Each peptide fragment had amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 20 to 24 when these amino acid sequences were analyzed by the protein seauencer used in Experiment 5-1.

Experiment 5-4 Internal Amino Acid Sequences of the Polypeptide from Arthrobacter globiformis A19

A part of a purified specimen of polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity, obtained in Experiment 3-3, was dialyzed against 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 9.0), and the dialyzed solution was diluted with a fresh preparation of the same buffer to give a concentration of about one mg/ml. One milliliter of the diluted solution as a test sample was admixed with 20 μg of “Lysyl Endopeptidase” commercialized by Wako Pure Chemicals, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, and incubated at 30° C. for 24 hours to form peptides. The resulting hydrolyzate was subjected to reverse-phase HPLC to separate the peptides using “μ-BONDASPHERE C18 column”, having a diameter of 2.1 mm and a length of 150 mm, a product of Waters Chromatography Div., MILLIPORE Corp., Milford, USA, pre-equilibrated with 0.1% (v/v) trifluoroacetate containing 16% (v/v) acetonitrile, at a flow rate of 0.9 ml/minutes and at ambient temperature, and using a linear gradient of acetonitrile increasing from 16% (v/v) to 36% (v/v) in 0.1% (v/v) trifluoroacetate over 120 minutes. Peptide fragments eluted from the column were detected by monitoring the absorbance at a wavelength of 210 nm. Five peptide fragments, PA39 (Rt: about 39 minutes), PA81 (Rt: about 81 minutes), PA86 (Rt: about 86 minutes), PA92 (Rt: about 92 minutes), PA104 (Rt: about 104 minutes), which were separated well from other peptides, were separately collected and dried in vacuo and then dissolved in a 200 μl Lsolution of 0.1% (v/v) trifluoroacetate and 50% (v/v) acetonitrile. Each peptide fragment had amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 27to 31 when these amino acid sequences were analyzed by the protein sequencer used in Experiment 5-1.

EXPERIMENT 6 Preparation of a Recombinant DNA Containing a DNA Encoding Polypeptide from Bacillus globisporus C11 and a Transformant Experiment 6-1 Preparation of Chromosomal DNA

A liquid culture medium consisting 2% (w/v) of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 1.0% (w/v) of “ASAHIMEAST”, a yeast extract, 0.1% (w/v) of dipotassium phosphate, 0.06% (w/v) of sodium phosphate dodeca-hydrate, 0.05% (w/v) of magnesium sulfate hepta-hydrate, and water was placed in 500-ml Erlenmeyer flasks in a respective amount of 100 ml, sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 20 minutes, cooled and inoculated with Bacillus globisporus C11, followed by culturing under rotary-shaking conditions at 27° C. and 230 rpm for 24 hours. The cells collected from the culture by centrifugation were suspended in TES buffer (pH 8.0), the suspended solution was admixed with lysozyrne to give a concentration of 0.05% (w/v), and incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes. After freezing the lysate at BOG for one hour, the lysate was added with TES buffer (pH 9.0)and heated to 60° C. The solution was added with a mixture of TES buffer and phenol, and was vigorously shook for five minute in an ice bath, and the supernatant was collected by centrifugation. The supernatant was added twice volume of cold ethanol, and resulting crude precipitate was collected as a crude chromosomal DNA. The crude chromosomal DNA was dissolved in SSC buffer (pH 7.1), and admixed with 7.5 μg of ribonuclease and 125 μg of proteinase, and incubated 37° C. for one hour. The chromosomal DNA was extracted from the reactant by adding chloroform/isoamylalcohol mixture, then added cold ethanol, and the resulting precipitate containing chromosomal DNA was collected. The purified chromosomal DNA, obtained according to the method described above, was dissolved in SSC buffer (pH 7.1) to give a concentration of about one mg/ml and frozen at −80° C.

Experiment 6-2 Preparation of a Transformant. BGC2

One milliliter of purified chromosomal DNA solution, prepared by the method in Experiment 6-1, was admixed with about 35 units of a restriction enzyme, Sau 3AI, and incubated at 37° C. for 20 minutes for partial digestion of the chromosomal DNA. The resulting DNA fragments corresponding to about 2,000 to 6,000 base pairs were collected by sucrose density-gradient centrifugation. A plasmid vector, Bluescript II SK(+), commercialized by Stratagene Cloning System, was completely digested with a restriction enzyme, Barn HI by conventional method. A recombinant DNA was obtained by ligating 0.5 μg of the digested plasmid vector with about 5 μg of the DNA fragments prepared before by using a “DNA ligation kit”, commercialized by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd., according to the method described in a document attached with the kit. Then, a gene library was prepared by transforming 100 μl portion of the competent cell, “Epicurian Coli XL2-Blue”, commercialized by Stratagene Cloning System, with the recombinant DNA by conventional competent cell method. The transformants thus obtained as gene library were inoculated into a fresh agar plate medium (pH 7.0) containing 10 g/L of tryptone, 5 g/L of yeast extract, 5 g/L of sodium chloride, 100 mg/L of ampicillin sodium salt, and 50 mg/L of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-galactoside, and incubated at 37° C. for 24 hours. About five thousand white colonies grown on the plate were transferred to and fixed on a nylon membrane, “Hybond-N+”, commercialized by Amasham Bioscience K. K. An oligonucleotide having a nucleotide sequence of “5′-GGNTTYATGAAYTTYAGRTGGGA-3′” was chemically synthesized on the bases of an amino acid sequence of fourth to eleventh of SEQ ID NO: 16, disclosed by the method in Experiment 5-2. A synthetic DNA (probe 1) was obtained by labeling the oligonucleotide with radioisotope using [γ-³²P]ATP and T4 polynucleotide kinase according to the conventional method. Subsequently, two types of transformants showing remarkable hybridization with probe 1 were selected from the colonies fixed on the nylon membrane obtained before, using conventional colony hybridization. The recombinant DNAs were collected from these two types of transformants by conventional method. On the other hand, probe 2 having the nucleotide sequence of “5′-GAYGCNTGGATGTTYGGNGAYTGG-3′” was chemically synthesized based on a amino acid sequence of fourth to eleventh of SEQ ID NO: 17 and labeled with radioisotope in the same manner. The recombinant DNAs obtained and probe 2 were used for conventional southern-hybridization, and a recombinant DNA showing a remarkable hybridization with probe 2 was selected. A transformant thus selected was named “BGC2”.

Experiment 6-3 Analysis of DNA Sequence

According to the conventional method, a transformant, BGC2, obtained by the method in Experiment 6-2, was inoculated into L-broth medium (pH 7.0) containing 100 μg/ml of ampicillin sodium salt, and cultured under rotary-shaking conditions at 37° C. for 24 hours. After the completion of the culture, cells were collected by centrifugation, and the recombinant DNA was extracted from the cells by conventional alkaline-SDS method. When the nucleotide sequence of the recombinant DNA was analyzed by conventional dideoxy method, it was revealed that the recombinant DNA contained a DNA having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, 5,294 base pairs, which originated from Bacillus globisporus C11. In the recombinant DNA, as shown in FIG. 17, the DNA was ligated at downstream of recognition site of a restriction enzyme, Xba I. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence is as shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 18. The amino acid sequence was compared with amino acid sequences of polypeptide of the present invention, i.e., the N-terminal amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 disclosed by the method in Experiment 5-1 and the internal partial amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 8 to 17 disclose by the method in Experiment 5-2. An amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 was completely identical with that of 36th to 44th of the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 18. Amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs:8, 9, 10, 11, 12,13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were completely identical with those of 823rd to 832nd, 576th to 589th, 874th to 904th, 1117th to 1141st, 657th to 670th, 367th to 399th, 970th to 993rd, 938th to 953rd, 279th to 295th, and 632nd to 651st of the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 18, respectively. Since the nucleotide sequence of 4,783rd to 4785th of SEQ ID NO: 18 encodes a codon for terminating the translation (stop codon, 5′-TAA-3′), it is revealed that C-terminal amino acid of the polypeptide of the present invention is glutamic acid (1,284th amino acid of the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 18). These results indicate that the polypeptide of the present invention contains the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, and that the polypeptide is encoded by the DNA having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 in the case of Bacillus globisporus C11. An amino acid sequence of the first to 35th of that showing in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 18 was presumed to be a secretion signal sequence of the polypeptide. According to the results described above, it was revealed that the precursor peptide of the polypeptide before secretion had the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 18, and the amino acid sequence was encoded by the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. The recombinant DNA prepared and confirmed the nucleotide sequence as described above was named “pBGC2”.

EXPERIMENT 7 Preparation of a Recombinant DNA Containing a DNA Encoding Polypeptide from Bacillus globisporus N75 and a Transformant Experiment 7-1 Preparation of Chromosomal DNA

A liquid culture medium consisting 2% (w/v) of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 1.0% (w/v) of “ASAHIMEAST”, a yeast extract, 0.1% (w/v) of dipotassium phosphate, 0.06% (w/v) of sodium phosphate dodeca-hydrate, 0.05% (w/v) of magnesium sulfate hepta-hydrate, and water was placed in 500-ml Erlenmeyer flasks in a respective amount of 100 ml, sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 20 minutes, cooled and inoculated with Bacillus globisporus N75, followed by culturing under rotary-shaking conditions at 27° C. and 230 rpm for 24 hours. The cells collected from the culture by centrifugation were suspended in TES buffer (pH 8.0), the suspended solution was admixed with lysozyme to give a concentration of 0.05% (w/v), and incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes. After freezing the lysate at −80° C. for one hour, the lysate was added with TES buffer (pH 9.0) and heated to 60° C. The solution was added with a mixture of TES buffer and phenol, and was vigorously shook for five minute in an ice bath, and the supernatant was collected by centrifugation. The supernatant was added twice volume of cold ethanol, and resulting crude precipitate was collected as crude chromosomal DNA. The crude chromosomal DNA was dissolved in SSC buffer (pH 7.1), and admixed with 7.5 μg of ribonuclease and 125 μg of proteinase, and incubated 37° C. for one hour. The chromosomal DNA was extracted from the reactant by adding chloroform/isoamylalcohol mixture, then added cold ethanol, and the resulting precipitate containing chromosomal DNA was collected. The purified chromosomal DNA, obtained according to the method described above, was dissolved in SSC buffer (pH 7.1) to give a concentration of about one mg/ml and frozen at −80° C.

Experiment 7-2 Preparation of a Transformant, BGN2

One hundred μl (0.1 ml) of purified chromosomal DNA solution, prepared by the method in Experiment 7-1, was admixed with about 200 units of a restriction enzyme, Kpn I, and incubated at 37° C. for 16 hours to digest the chromosomal DNA. The resulting DNA fragments were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, and DNA fragments corresponding to about 3,000 to 7,000 base pairs were collected. A plasmid vector, Bluescript II SK(+), commercialized by Stratagene Cloning System, was completely digested with a restriction enzyme, Kpn I. A recombinant DNA was obtained by ligating 0.5 μg of the digested plasmid vector with about 5 μg of the DNA fragments prepared before by using a “DNA ligation kit”, commercialized by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd., according to the method described in a document attached with the kit. Then, a gene library was prepared by transforming 100 μl portion of the competent cell, “Epicurian Coli XL2-Blue”, commercialized by Stratagene Cloning System, with the recombinant DNA by conventional competent cell method. The transformants thus obtained as gene library were inoculated into a fresh agar plate medium (pH 7.0) containing 10 g/L of tryptone, 5 g/L of yeast extract, 5 g/L of sodium chloride, 100 mg/L of ampicillin sodium salt, and 50 mg/L of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-galactoside, and incubated at 37° C. for 24 hours. About 2,500 white colonies grown on the plate were transferred to and fixed on a nylon membrane, “Hybond-N+”, commercialized by Amasham Bioscience K. K. An oligonucleotide having a nucleotide sequence of “5′-GAYGCNTGGATGTTYGGNGAYTGG-3′” was chemically synthesized on the bases of an amino acid sequence of fourth to eleventh of SEQ ID NO: 24, which disclosed by the method in Experiment 5-3. A synthetic DNA (probe 1) was obtained by labeling the oligonucleotide with radioisotope using [γ-³²P]ATP and T4 polynucleotide kinase according to the conventional method. Subsequently, three types of transformant showing remarkable hybridization with probe 1 were selected from the colonies fixed on the nylon membrane obtained before, using conventional colony hybridization. The recombinant DNAs were collected from these three types of transformant by conventional method. On the other hand, probe 2 having the nucleotide sequence of “5′-GTNAAYCARAAYCAYTGGTTYTA-3′” was chemically synthesized based on a amino acid sequence of fourteenth to twenty-first of SEQ ID NO: 23 and labeled with radioisotope in the same manner. The recombinant DNAs obtained and probe 2 were used for conventional southern-hybridization, and a recombinant DNA showing a remarkable hybridization with probe 2 was selected. A transformant thus selected was named “BGN2”.

Experiment 7-3 Analysis of DNA Sequence

According to the conventional method, the transformant, BGN2, obtained by the method in Experiment 7-2, was inoculated into L-broth medium (pH 7.0) containing 100 μg/ml of ampicillin sodium salt, and cultured under rotary-shaking conditions at 37° C. for 24 hours. After the completion of the culture, cells were collected by centrifugation, and the recombinant DNA was extracted from the cells by conventional alkaline-SDS method. When the nucleotide sequence of the recombinant DNA was analyzed by conventional dideoxy method, it was revealed that the recombinant DNA contained a DNA having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25, 4,991 base pairs, which originated from Bacillus globisporus N75. In the recombinant DNA, as shown in FIG. 18, the DNA was ligated at downstream of recognition site of a restriction enzyme, Kpn I. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence is as shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 25. The amino acid sequence was compared with amino acid sequences of polypeptide of the present invention, i.e., the N-terminal amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 disclosed by the method in Experiment 5-1 and the internal partial amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs:20 to 24 disclosed by the method in Experiment 5-3. An amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 was completely identical with that of 36th to 43rd of the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 25. Amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs:20, 21, 22, 23, and 24were completely identical with those of 907th to925th, 367th to 386th, 1,034th to 1,058th, 996th to 1,020th, and 632nd to 642nd of the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 25, respectively. Since the nucleotide sequence of 4,294th to 4,296th of SEQ ID NO: 25encodes a codon for terminating the translation (stop codon, 5′-TAA-3′), it is revealed that C-terminal amino acid of the polypeptide of the present invention is glutamine (1,286th amino acid of the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 25). These results indicate that the polypeptide of the present invention contains the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and that the polypeptide is encoded by the DNA having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 in the case of Bacillus globisporus N75. An amino acid sequence of the first to 35th of that showing in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 25 was presumed to be a secretion signal sequence of the polypeptide. According to the results described above, it was revealed that the precursor peptide of the polypeptide before secretion had the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 25, and the amino acid sequence was encoded by the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25. The recombinant DNA prepared and confirmed the nucleotide sequence as described above was named “pBGN2”.

EXPERIMENT 8 Preparation of a Recombinant DNA Containing a DNA Encoding Polypeptide from Arthrobacter globiformis A19 and a Transformant Experiment 8-1 Preparation of Chromosomal DNA

A liquid culture medium consisting 2% (w/v) of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 1.0% (w/v) of “ASAHIMEAST”, a yeast extract, 0.1% (w/v) of dipotassium phosphate, 0.06% (w/v) of sodium phosphate dodeca-hydrate, 0.05% (w/v) of magnesium sulfate hepta-hydrate, and water was placed in 500-ml Erlenmeyer flasks in a respective amount of 100 ml, sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 20 minutes, cooled and inoculated with Arthrobacter globiformis A19, followed by culturing under rotary-shaking conditions at 27° C. and 230 rpm for 24 hours. The cells collected from the culture by centrifugation were suspended in TES buffer (pH 8.0), the suspended solution was admixed with lysozyme to give a concentration of 0.05% (w/v), and incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes. After freezing the lysate at −80° C. for one hour, the lysate was added with TES buffer (pH 9.0) and heated to 60° C. The solution was added with a mixture of TES buffer and phenol, and was vigorously shook for five minute in an ice bath, and the supernatant was collected by centrifugation. The supernatant was added twice volume of cold ethanol, and resulting crude precipitate was collected as crude chromosomal DNA. The crude chromosomal DNA was dissolved in SSC buffer (pH 7.1), and admixed with 7.5 μg of ribonuclease and 125 μg of proteinase, and incubated 37° C. for one hour. The chromosomal DNA was extracted from the reactant by adding chloroform/isoamylalcohol mixture, then added cold ethanol, and the resulting precipitate containing chromosomal DNA was collected. The purified chromosomal DNA, obtained according to the method described above, was dissolved in SSC buffer (pH 7.1) to give a concentration of about one mg/ml and frozen at −80° C.

Experiment 8-2 Preparation of a Transformant, AGA1

One ml of purified chromosomal DNA solution, prepared by the method in Experiment 8-1, was admixed with about 10 units of a restriction enzyme, Kpn I, and incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes to digest partially the chromosomal DNA. The resulting DNA fragments were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, and DNA fragments corresponding to about 4,000 to 8,000 base pairs were collected. A plasmid vector, Bluescript II SK(+), commercialized by Stratagene Cloning System, was completely digested with a restriction enzyme, Kpn I. A recombinant DNA was obtained by ligating 0.5 μg of the digested plasmid vector with about 5 μg of the DNA fragments prepared before by using a “DNA ligation kit”, commercialized by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd., according to the method described in a document attached with the kit. Then, a gene library was prepared by transforming 100 μl portion of the competent cell, “Epicurian Coli XL2-Blue”, commercialized by Stratagene Cloning System, with the recombinant DNA by conventional competent cell method. The transformants thus obtained as gene library were inoculated into a fresh agar plate medium (pH 7.0) containing 10 g/L of tryptone, 5 g/L of yeast extract, 5 g/L of sodium chloride, 100 mg/L of ampicillin sodium salt, and 50 mg/L of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-galactoside, and incubated at 37° C. for 24 hours. About six thousands white colonies grown on the plate were transferred to and fixed on a nylon membrane, “Hybond-N+”, commercialized by Amasham Bioscience K. K. An oligonucleotide having a nucleotide sequence of “5′-CARGARTGGAAYYTNACNGGNGAYCCNTGGAC-3′” was chemically synthesized on the bases of an amino acid sequence of first to eleventh of SEQ ID NO: 27, which disclosed by the method in Experiment 5-4. A synthetic DNA (probe 1) was obtained by labeling the oligonucleotide with radioisotope using [γ-³²P]ATP and T4 polynucleotide kinase according to the conventional method. Subsequently, two types of transformant showing remarkable hybridization with probe 1 were selected from the colonies fixed on the nylon membrane obtained before, using conventional colony hybridization. The recombinant DNAs were collected from these two types of transformant by conventional method. On the other hand, probe 2 having the nucleotide sequence of “5′-TGGACNCARCCNGARGCNGGNGCNGTNTTGCA-3′” was chemically synthesized based on a amino acid sequence of sixth to sixteenth of SEQ ID NO: 29 and labeled with radioisotope in the same manner. The recombinant DNAs obtained and probe 2 were used for conventional southern-hybridization, and a recombinant DNA showing a remarkable hybridization with probe 2 was selected. A transformant thus selected was named “AGA1”.

Experiment 8-3 Analysis of DNA Sequence

According to the conventional method, the transformant, AGA1, obtained by the method in Experiment 8-2, was inoculated into L-broth medium (pH 7.0) containing 100 μg/ml of ampicillin sodium salt, and cultured under rotary-shaking conditions at 37° C. for 24 hours. After the completion of the culture, cells were collected by centrifugation, and the recombinant DNA was extracted from the cells by conventional alkaline-SDS method. When the nucleotide sequence of the recombinant DNA was analyzed by conventional dideoxy method, it was revealed that the recombinant DNA contained a DNA having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32, 5,811 base pairs, which originated from Arthrobacter globiformis A19. In the recombinant DNA, as shown in FIG. 19, the DNA was ligated at downstream of recognition site of a restriction enzyme, Kpn I. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence is as shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 32. The amino acid sequence was compared with amino acid sequences of polypeptide of the present invention, i.e., the N-terminal amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26 disclosed by the method in Experiment 5-1 and the internal partial amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs:27 to 31 disclosed by the method in Experiment 5-4. An amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 26 was completely identical with that of 37th to 49th of the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 32. Amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31 were completely identical with those of 227th to 239th, 345th to 374th, 401st to 430th, 89th to 115th, and 641st to 667th of the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 32, respectively. Since the nucleotide sequence of 4,550th to 4,552nd of SEQ ID NO: 32 encodes a codon for terminating the translation (stop codon, 5′-TGA-3′), it is revealed that C-terminal amino acid of the polypeptide of the present invention is phenylalanine (965th amino acid of the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 32).

These results indicate that the polypeptide of the present invention contains the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, and that the polypeptide is encoded by the DNA having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6 in the case of Arthrobacter globiformis A19 (FERM BP-7590). An amino acid sequence of the first to 36th of that showing in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 32 was presumed to be a secretion signal sequence of the polypeptide. According to the results described above, it was revealed that the precursor peptide of the polypeptide before secretion had the amino acid sequence shown in parallel in SEQ ID NO: 32, and the amino acid sequence was encoded by the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32. The recombinant DNA prepared and confirmed the nucleotide sequence as described above was named “pAGA1”.

EXPERIMENT 9 Production of Polypeptides by Transformants of the Present Invention Experiment 9-1 A Transformant, BGC2

A liquid culture medium consisting 5 g/L of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 20 g/L of polypeptone, 20 g/L of yeast extract, 1 g/L of sodium phosphate dodeca-hydrate, and water was placed in a 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask in a amount of 100 ml, sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 15 minutes, and cooled. Then, the liquid medium was sterilely set to pH 7.0, and sterilely admixed with 10 mg of ampicillin sodium salt. A transformant, BGC2, obtained by the method in Experiment 6-2, was inoculated into the above liquid medium, and cultured at 27° C. and for 48 hours under aeration-agitation conditions. To investigate the location of the polypeptide in the culture, cells and supernatant were separately collected by conventional centrifugation. In the case of the cells, whole-cell extract, obtained by ultrasonic disruption, and periplasmic extract, obtained by osmotic shock procedure were prepared separately. In the case of ultrasonic disruption, cells were suspended in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), and then disrupted in an ice bath using a ultrasonic homogenizer, “model UH-600”, commercialized by MST Corporation, Aichi, Japan, to extract whole-cell fraction. In the case of osmotic shock procedure, cells were washed with 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.3) containing 30 mM sodium chloride, and the washed cells were suspended in 33 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.3) containing 200 g/L of sucrose and 1 mM EDTA, shook at 27° C. for 20 minutes, and then centrifuged to collect the cells. Subsequently, the cells were suspended in 0.5 mM magnesium chloride solution pre-cooled at about 4° C., and shaken in an ice bath for 20 minutes to extract periplasmic fraction. After centrifuging, the resulting supernatant was collected as periplasmic extract.

α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activities of culture supernatant, whole-cell extract and periplasmic extract, prepared as described above, were assayed, and those values were expressed in terms of the activities/ml-culture, respectively. The results are shown in Table 12.

TABLE 12 α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide- forming enzyme activity Sample (units/ml-culture) Culture supernatant 0.0 Whole-cell extract 1.1 Periplasmic extract 1.0

As evident from the results in Table 12, it was revealed that the transformant, BGC2, produced the polypeptide of the present invention intracellularly, and secreted most of it in periplasmic fraction. As the first control experiment, E. coli XL2-Blue was cultured with the same conditions in the case of the transformant described above except for the addition of ampicillin, and a supernatant and a cell-extract were prepared from the culture. As the second control experiment, Bacillus globisporus C11, was cultured with the same conditions in the case of the transformant described above except for the addition of ampicillin, and a supernatant and a cell-extract were prepared from the culture. In the first control experiment, the enzyme activity was not detected from either of the culture supernatant and the cell-extract. In the second control experiment, the enzyme activity of the culture supernatant and the cell-extract were about 0.37 units and about 0.02 units, respectively. Compared with the case of the transformant BGC2, the enzyme activity was evidently low-level values.

The periplasmic fraction was further purified by salting out, dialysis and successive column chromatographies on “SEPABEADS FP-DA13” gel, “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel, and “BTJTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel according to the methods described in Experiment 1, and the purified polypeptide was analyzed according to the methods described in Experiment 1. As the results, the molecular weight was about 137,000±2,000 daltons by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the isoelectric point was about 5.2±0.5 by polyacrylamide gel isoelectrophoresis, the optimum temperature of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-transferring enzyme activity was about 45° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 50° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺), the optimum pH was about 6.0, the thermal stability was up to about 40° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 50° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺), and the pH stability was in the range of about pH 5.0 to about 10.0. These physicochemical properties were practically identical to those of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity prepared in Experiment 1.

Experiment 9-2 A Transformant, BGN2

A liquid culture medium consisting 5 g/L of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 20 g/L of polypeptone, 20 g/L of yeast extract, 1 g/L of sodium phosphate dodeca-hydrate, and water was placed in a 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask in a amount of 100 ml, sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 15 minutes, and cooled. Then, the liquid medium was sterilely set to pH 7.0, and sterilely admixed with 10 mg of ampicillin sodium salt. A transformant, BGN2, obtained by the method in Experiment 7-2, was inoculated into the above liquid medium, and cultured at 27° C. and for 48 hours under aeration-agitation conditions. To investigate the location of the polypeptide in the culture, culture supernatant, whole-cell extract, and periplasmic extract were separately prepared according to the method in Experiment 9-1. α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activities of culture supernatant, whole-cell extract and periplasmic extract were assayed, and those values were expressed in terms of the activities/ml-culture, respectively. The results are shown in Table 13.

TABLE 13 α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide- forming enzyme activity Sample (units/ml-culture) Culture supernatant 0.54 Whole-cell extract 0.91 Periplasmic extract 0.85

As evident from the results in Table 13, it was revealed that the transformant, BGN2, produced the polypeptide of the present invention intracellularly, and secreted most of it in periplasmic fraction. As the first control experiment, E. coli XL2-Blue was cultured with the same conditions in the case of the transformant described above except for the addition of ampicillin, and a supernatant and a cell-extract were prepared from the culture. As the second control experiment, Bacillus globisporus N75, was cultured with the same conditions in the case of the transformant described above except for the addition of ampicillin, and a supernatant and a cell-extract were prepared from the culture. In the first control experiment, the enzyme activity was not detected from either of the culture supernatant and the cell-extract. In the second control experiment, the enzyme activity of the culture supernatant and the cell-extract were about 0.21 units and about 0.01 units, respectively. Compared with the case of the transformant BGN2, the enzyme activity was evidently low-level values.

The periplasmic fraction was further purified by salting out, dialysis and successive column chromatographies on “SEPABEADS FP-DA13” gel, “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel, and “BUTYL-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel according to the methods described in Experiment 2, and the purified polypeptide was analyzed according to the methods described in Experiment 2. As the results, the molecular weight was about 136,000±2,000 daltons by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the isoelectric point was about 7.3±0.5 by polyacrylamide gel isoelectrophoresis, the optimum temperature of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-transferring enzyme activity was about 50° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 55° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺), the optimum pH was about 6.0, the thermal stability was up to about 45° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 50° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺), and the pH stability was in the range of about pH 5.0 to about 9.0. These physicochemicalL properties were practically identical to those of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity prepared in Experiment 2.

Experiment 9-3 A Transformant, AGA1

A liquid culture medium consisting 5 g/L of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 20. g/L of polypeptone, 20 g/L of yeast extract, 1 g/L of sodium phosphate dodeca-hydrate, and water was placed in a 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask in a amount of 100 ml, sterilized by autoclaving at 121° C. for 15 minutes, and cooled. Then, the liquid medium was sterilely set to pH 7.0, and sterilely admixed with 10 mg of ampicillin sodium salt. A transformant, AGA1, obtained by the method in Experiment 8-2, was inoculated into the above liquid medium, and cultured at 27° C. and for 48 hours under aeration-agitation conditions. To investigate the location of the polypeptide in the culture, culture supernatant, whole-cell extract, and periplasmic extract were separately prepared according to the method in Experiment 9-1. α-Isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activities of culture supernatant, whole-cell extract and periplasmic extract were assayed, and those values were expressed in terms of the activities/ml-culture, respectively. The results are shown in Table 14.

TABLE 14 α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide- forming enzyme activity Sample (units/ml-culture) Culture supernatant 0.51 Whole-cell extract 2.5 Periplasmic extract 2.4

As evident from the results in Table 14, it was revealed that the transformant, AGA1, produced the polypeptide of the present invention intracellularly, and secreted most of it in periplasmic fraction. As the first control experiment, E. coli XL2-Blue was cultured with the same conditions in the case of the transformant described above except for the addition of ampicillin, and a supernatant and a cell-extract were prepared from the culture. As the second control experiment, Arthrobacter globiformis A19, was cultured with the same conditions in the case of the transformant described above except for the addition of ampicillin, and a supernatant and a cell-extract were prepared from the culture. In the first control experiment, the enzyme activity was not detected from either of the culture supernatant and the cell-extract. In the second control experiment, the enzyme activity of the culture supernatant and the cell-extract were about 0.33 units and about 0.01 units, respectively. Compared with the case of the transformant AGA1, the enzyme activity was evidently low-level values.

The periplasmic fraction was further purified by salting out, dialysis and successive column chromatographies on “DEAE-TOYOPEARL 650M” gel and “SEPHACRYL HR S-200” gel according to the methods described in Experiment 3, and the purified polypeptide was analyzed according to the methods described in Experiment 3. As the results, the molecular weight was about 94,000±2,000 daltons by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the isoelectric point was about 4.3±0.5 by polyacrylamide gel isoelectrophoresis, the optimum temperature of α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-transferring enzyme activity was about 60° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 65° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺), the optimum pH was about 8.4, the thermal stability was up to about 55° C. (in the absence of Ca²⁺) and about 60° C. (in the presence of Ca²⁺), and the pH stability was in the range of about pH 5.0 to about 9.0. These physicochemical properties were practically identical to those of the polypeptide having α-isomaltosylglucosaccharide-forming enzyme activity prepared in Experiment 3.

From the results described above, it is revealed that the polypeptide of the present invention can be produced by recombinant DNA techniques, and that the productivity of the polypeptide is remarkably increased.

The following examples concretely explain the production processes for the polypeptide of the present invention, cyclotetrasaccharide obtainable thereby, and saccharides comprising the same:

EXAMPLE 1 Production of the Polypeptide of the Present Invention

A liquid medium containing 5 g/L of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 20 g/L of polypeptorie, 20 g/L of yeast extract, 1 g/L of sodium phosphate, and water was placed in a 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask in an amount of 100 ml, sterilized at 121° C. for 15 minutes, and cooled. Then, the liquid medium was sterilely set to pH 7.0, and admixed with ampicillin sodium salt to give a final concentration of 100 μg/ml. A transformant, BGC2, obtained by the method in Experiment 5-2, was inoculated into the above liquid medium, and cultured at 27° C. and at 230 rpm for 24 hours to obtain the seed culture. Subsequently, about 18 L of a fresh preparation of the same liquid culture medium as used for the above seed culture was placed in a 30-L fermentor, sterilized with the same manner, cooled to 27° C., and then admixed with ampicillin to give a concentration of 50 g/ml, and inoculated with 1%(v/v) of the seed culture, followed by culturing at 27° C. for 48 hours under aeration condition. After collecting cells in the culture by centrifugation, suspending the cells in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), disrupting the cells by ultrasonication, and removing the cell-debris by centrifugation, supernatant was obtained. About 1,100 units/L-culture of enzyme activity was detected by the assay of the activity in the resulting supernatant. About 70 ml of enzyme solution containing about 61 units/ml of the polypeptide of the present invention, whose specific activity is about 13.5 units/mg-protein, was obtained by purifying the supernatant according to the method described in Experiment 1.

EXAMPLE 2 Production of the Polypeptide of the Present Invention

A liquid medium containing 5 g/L of “PINE-DEX #4”, a partial starch hydrolyzate, 20 g/L of polypeptone, 20 g/L of yeast extract, 1 g/L of sodium phosphate, and water was placed in a 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask in an amount of 100 ml, sterilized at 121° C. for 15 minutes, and cooled. Then, the liquid medium was sterilely set to pH 7.0, and admixed with ampicillin sodium salt to give a final concentration of 100 μg/ml. A transformant, BGN2, obtained by the method in Experiment 6-2, was inoculated into the above liquid medium, and cultured at 27° C. and at 230 rpm for 24 hours to obtain the seed culture. Subsequently, about 18 L of a fresh preparation of the same liquid culture medium as used above seed culture was placed in a 30-L ferment6r, sterilized with the same manner, cooled to 27° C., and then admixed with ampicillin to give a concentration of 50 μg/ml, and inoculated with 1%(v/v) of the seed culture, followed by culturing at 27° C. for 48 hours under aeration condition. Culture supernatant was obtained by centrifuging the resultant culture. About 750 units/L-culture of enzyme activity was detected by the assay of the activity in the resulting culture supernatant. About 75 ml of enzyme solution containing about 72 units/ml of the polypeptide of the present invention, whose specific activity is about 12.6 units/mg-protein, was obtained by purifying the supernatant according to the method described in Experiment 2.

EXAMPLE 3 Production of a Syrupy Composition Containing Cyclotetrasaccharide

A tapioca starch was prepared into an about 25% starch suspension, admixed with 0.2%/g-starch, d.s.b., of “NEOSPITASE”, an α-amylase commercialized by Nagase Biochemicals, Ltd., Kyoto, Japan, and then heated at 85–90° C. for about 25 minutes. After autoclaving at 120° C. for 20 minutes, the reaction mixture was cooled to about 35° C. to obtain a liquefied-solution with a DE about four. The liquefied solution was admixed with2.2 units/g-starch,d.s.b., of the polypeptide of the present invention, obtained in Example 1, 6.6 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme obtained by the method in Experiment 1-4, and 10 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase commercialized by Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories Inc., followed by the enzymatic reaction at pH 6.0 and at 35° C. for 48 hours. After heating to 95° C. for 30 minutes, the reaction mixture was adjusted at pH 5.0 and 50° C., admixed with 300 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of “TRANSGLUCOSIDASE L AMANO™”, an α-glucosidase commercialized by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Aichi, Japan, followed by the enzymatic reaction for 24 hours. Further the reaction mixture was mixed with 30 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of “GLUCOZYME”, a glucoamylase preparation commercialized by Nagase Biochemicals, Ltd., Kyoto, Japan, and then enzymatically reacted for 17 hours. The reaction mixture was heated to 95° C. and kept for 30 minute, and then cooled and filtered to obtain a filtrate. According to the conventional manner, the resulting filtrate was decolored with activated charcoal, desalted and purified with ion exchangers in H- and OH-forms, and then concentrated into a 60% cyclotetrasaccharide syrup in a yield of about 90% to the material starch, d.s.b.

Since the product contains, on a dry solid basis, 36.4% glucose, 58.1% cyclotetrasaccharide, and 3.5% of other saccharides and has a mild sweetness, an adequate viscosity, moisture-retaining ability, clathrating ability, it can be advantageously used in a variety of compositions such as food products, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals as a sweetener, taste-improving agent, quality-improving agent, syneresis-preventing agent, stabilizer, discoloration-preventing agent, filler, and clathrating agent.

EXAMPLE 4 Production of a Crystalline Powder of Cyclotetrasaccharide

A corn starch was prepared into a 25% starch suspension, admixed with calcium carbonate to give a final concentration of 0.1%, adjusted to pH 6.5, and admixed with 0.3%/g-starch of “THERMAMYL 60 L”, an α-amylase commercialized by Novo Industries A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark, and then heated at 95° C. for 15 minutes. After autoclaving at 120° C. for 20 minutes, the reaction mixture was cooled to 35° C. to obtain a liquefied solution with a DE of about four. To the liquefied solution was added 2.5 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of the polypeptide of the present invention, obtained in Example 1, 7.0 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme obtained by the method in Experiment 1-4, and 10 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase commercialized by Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories Inc., followed by the enzymatic reaction at pH 6.0 and 35° C. for 48 hours. After heating to 95° C. for 30 minutes, the reaction mixture was adjusted at pH 5.0, and 50° C., admixed with 300 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of “TRANSGLUCOSIDASE L AMANO™”, an α-glucosidase commercialized by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Aichi, Japan, followed by the enzymatic reaction for 24 hours. Further the reaction mixture was mixed with 30 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of “GLUCOZYME”, a glucoamylase preparation commercialized by Nagase Biochemicals, Ltd., Kyoto, Japan, and then enzymatically reacted for 24 hours. The reaction mixture was heated to 95° C. and kept for 30 minute, and then cooled and filtered to obtain a filtrate. According to the conventional manner, the resulting filtrate was decolored with activated charcoal, desalted and purified with ion exchangers in H- and OH-forms, and then concentrated into a 60% syrup containing, on a dry solid basis, 34.2% glucose, 62.7% cyclotetrasaccharide, and 3.1% of other saccharides.

The resulting saccharide solution was subjected to a column chromatography using “AMBERLITE CR-1310 (Na-form)”, a strong acid cation-exchanger resin commercialized by Japan Organo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. The resin was packed into four-jacketed stainless steel columns having a diameter of 5.4 cm, which were then cascaded in series to give a total gel bed depth of 20 m. Under the conditions of keeping the inner column temperature at 60° C., the saccharide solution was fed to the columns in a volume of 5%(v/v) and fractionated by feeding to the columns hot water heated to 60° C. at an SV (space velocity) of 0.13 to obtain high cyclotetrasaccharide content fractions while monitoring the saccharide composition of eluate by HPLC, and then collected the high cyclotetrasaccharide content solution containing about 98%, d.s.b., of cyclotetrasaccharide.

The solution was concentrated to give a concentration of about 70% and then placed in a crystallizer, admixed with about 2% crystalline cyclotetrasaccharide penta- or hexa-hydrate as seed crystal, and gradually cooled to obtain a massecuite with a crystallinity of about 45%. The massecuite was sprayed from a nozzle equipped on top of drying tower at high pressure of 150 kg/cm². Simultaneously, hot air heated to 85° C. was being blown down from the upper part of the drying tower, and the resulting crystal powder was collected on a transporting wire conveyor provided on the basement of the tower and gradually moved out of the tower while blowing thereunto a hot air heated to 45° C. The resulting crystalline powder was injected to an aging tower and aged for 10 hours while a hot air was being blown to the contents to complete crystallization and drying to obtain a crystalline powder of cyclotetrasaccharide penta- or hexa-hydrate in a yield of about 20% to the material starch, d.s.b.

Since the product has a relatively low reducibility, does substantially neither cause the amino-carbonyl reaction nor exhibit hygroscopicity, and has a satisfactory handleability, mild low sweetness, adequate viscosity, moisture-retaining ability, clathrating ability, and substantially non-digestibility, it can be advantageously used in a variety of compositions such as food products, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals as a sweetener, low calorie food, taste-improving agent, flavor-improving agent, quality-improving agent, syneresis-preventing agent, stabilizer, filler, clathrating agent, and base for pulverization.

EXAMPLE 5 Production of a Crystalline Powder of Cyclotetrasaccharide

A corn starch was prepared into a 30% starch suspension, admixed with calcium carbonate to give a concentration of 0.1%, adjusted to pH 6.5, and admixed with 0.3%/g-starch, d.s.b., of “THERMAMYL 60 L”, an α-amylase commercialized by Novo Industries A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark, and then heated at 95° C. for 15 minutes. After autoclaving at 120° C. for 20 minutes, the reaction mixture was cooled to 51° C. to obtain a liquefied solution with a DE of about four. To the liquefied solution was added 2.4 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of the polypeptide of the present invention, obtained in Example 2, 8.0 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of α-isomaltosyl-transferring enzyme obtained by the method in Experiment 2-4, and 3 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase commercialized by Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories Inc., followed by the enzymatic reaction at pH 5.5 and 51° C. for 48 hours. After heating to 95° C. for 30 minutes, the reaction mixture was adjusted to pH 5.0, and 50° C., admixed with 300 units/g-starch of “TRANSGLUCOSIDASE L AMANOυ”, an α-glucosidase commercialized by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Aichi, Japan, followed by the enzymatic reaction for 24 hours. Further the reaction mixture was mixed with 30 units/g-starch, d.s.b., of “GLUCOZYME”, a glucoamylase preparation commercialized by Nagase Biochemicals, Ltd., Kyoto, Japan, and then reacted for 17 hours. The reaction mixture was heated to 95° C. and kept for 30 minute, and then cooled and filtered to obtain a filtrate. According to the conventional manner, the resulting filtrate was decolored with activated charcoal, desalted and purified with ion exchangers in H- and OH-forms, and then concentrated into a 60% syrup containing, on a dry solid basis, 46.8% glucose, 44.0% cyclotetrasaccharide, and 9.8% of other saccharides. In order to increase the content of cyclotetrasaccharide, the resulting saccharide syrup was fractionated by a column chromatography using a strong acid cation-exchanger resin described in Example 5, and then collected the high cyclotetrasaccharide content fractions. After purifying, concentrating, and spray-drying, a powdery product containing cyclotetrasaccharide was obtained in a yield of about 45% to the material starch, d.s.b.

Since the product contains, on a dry solid basis, 3.7% glucose, 80.5% cyclotetrasaccharide, and 15.8% of other saccharides and has a mild sweetness, an adequate viscosity, moisture-retaining ability, clathrating ability, it can be advantageously used in a variety of compositions such as food products, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals as a sweetener, taste-improving agent, quality-improving agent, syneresis-preventing agent, stabilizer, discoloration-preventing agent, filler, clathrating agent, and base for pulverization.

The present invention, having these outstanding functions and effects, is a significantly important invention that greatly contributes to this art. 

1. An isolated DNA, which encodes a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2; wherein said polypeptide has an enzymatic activity of forming a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or higher and bearing both the α-1,6 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end and the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than the linkage at the non-reducing end from a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 2 or higher and bearing the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end by an α-glucosyl transferring reaction.
 2. The isolated DNA of claim 1, which comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO;5 or the full length complement thereof.
 3. The isolated DNA of claim 1, which is obtained by replacing one or more nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:5with other nucleotides based on the genetic code degeneracy wherein the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 remains unchanged.
 4. The isolated DNA of claim 1, which is isolated from a microorganism of the genus Bacillus.
 5. An isolated replicable recombinant DNA, which comprises the DNA of claim 1 and an autonomously replicable vector.
 6. The replicable recombinant DNA of claim 5, wherein said autonomously-replicable vector is a plasmid vector, Bluescript IT SK(+).
 7. An isolated host cell tramsformed with the recombinant DNA of claim 5 or
 6. 8. The isolated host cell of claim 7, wherein said host is a microorganism of the species Escherichia coil.
 9. A process for producing a polypeptide having an enzymatic activity of forming a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 3 or higher and bearing both the α-1,6 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end and the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage other than the linkage at the non-reducing end from a saccharide with a glucose polymerization degree of 2 or higher and bearing the α-1,4 glucosidic linkage as a linkage at the non-reducing end by α-glucosyl transferring reaction, which comprises the steps of culturing the isolated transformed host cell of claim 7 to produce the polypeptide and collecting the polypeptide from the resulting culture.
 10. The process of claim 9, wherein the polypeptide is collected by one or more techniques selected from the group consisting of centrifuge, filtration, concentration, salting out, dialysis, concentration, separatory precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, hydrophobic chromatography, affinity chromatography, gel electrophoresis, and isoelectric focusing. 